


Woe To Thee

by Anso



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Medical, Season/Series 07, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-21
Updated: 2010-11-13
Packaged: 2017-10-12 19:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 68,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/128333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anso/pseuds/Anso
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A difficult translation sends SG-1 on a mission of hide and seek across the galaxy. Will they find what they seek?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part one

Title: Woe to Thee  
Author: Anso  
Characters: Daniel, Sam, Jack and Teal'c. Gen. Hammond, Thor, Janet Fraiser and others also appear.  
Rating: G, gen  
Category: Adventure, h/c  
Word count:   
Timeline: Early season 7 with references to a lot of episodes throughout the series.   
Summery: A difficult translation turns out to be a game of hide and seek and sends SG-1 on a hunt across the galaxy. Will they find what they seek? Also, this is the Science Twins in "geek mode".   
A/N: Not mine, I'm just borrowing. Humble gratitude and appreciation to the creators are hereby sent. An enormous amount of gratitude and thanks goes to my beta Rosie who has given me invaluable help in keeping my head on straight while wrestling with the monster this little bunny turned out to be. And then she did it all over again when I revised the whole story. I also should thank Fignewton. Her honest reviews to the first posting of the first few chapters were very much appreciated. I apologize for taking the first parts of the story down, however it was necessary. Lastly, to those of you who read the first few chapters the first time they were posted, you might want to start over again. There are some major changes. My apologies for the inconvenience this may cause. I hope you enjoy!  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

PART ONE

 

Daniel emptied the last of his cold coffee into the sink on his work bench. As it ran down the drain, the bitter, black liquid removed the last signs of his painstakingly meticulous cleaning of the artifact sitting in front of him on the desk, a task that had taken all morning. The cylindrical, rod-like thing had been covered in dirt and was full of the tiniest creases that were impossible to make out with the naked eye, and a magnifying glass didn't do much good either. It was one of SG-13's finds. Cameron Balinsky, SG-13's archaeologist, hadn't had time to get started on it and had asked Daniel if he wanted to give it a try.

SG-13 had gated to an empty desert world where all they'd found was some ruins that were so old that they were crumpled to dust and any excavation or even exploration was highly dangerous, if possible at all. Daniel had reluctantly conceded to this fact when Hammond had called him to the control room to persuade the enthusiastic man--very reminiscent of Daniel himself, he thought ruefully--not to attempt any form of excavation or close-up recon of the ruins. As far as they knew there was nothing significant to find in the ruins, and both the UAV and the MALP had shown no signs of anything even remotely giving off life-signs within a 50 mile radius of the Gate - which was also about as far as it was possible to get on the small planet. Daniel would have liked for Balinsky to be able to explore the ruins, he'd even like to do it himself, but that was something that might come later, once they found significant evidence of civilization or technology. Sadly, Daniel thought with a sigh, the mere fact of very old ruins alone often weren't good enough a reason to excavate in SGC's book. Daniel had learned to live with the fact, but Balinsky was new and still had to learn to live with the compromises and concessions he'd have to make in order to be able to work on an SG-unit.

Now Daniel had not only cleaned the cylindrical object thoroughly, but also tried to figure out what it was for, oh, the last four hours without getting anywhere. Perhaps Sam could help? He picked up the receiver on his phone and dialled her extension.

"Hey, Sam," Daniel said before she even could answer.

"Dr. Jackson?" Bill Lee's confused voice answered.

"Hey, Bill. It's Daniel. Listen, is Sam there?"

"Yeah, hold on a sec."

"Hey, Daniel," Sam answered a few seconds later. "What's up?"

"I've got something I want you to take a look at."

"Okay. What is it?"

"I don't know. It's something Balinsky and his team brought back, and I'm stumped trying to figure it out. There are some markings on it but I think I need your help to get them scanned into the computer so I can get started on them. The script is too tiny to be read with the naked eye, but it's definitely a writing of some kind. The markings resemble hieroglyphic writing, but it doesn't appear to be of Goa'uld origin. I can't say for sure. I need to have it magnified to be even remotely certain about what kind of writing this is. Also,"

"Daniel," Sam patiently interrupted.

"Sorry, Sam. I do need your help to scan it and I think you should hook it up to some of your doodads and see if it holds the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything:"

"Doodads, Daniel? Life, the Universe and Everything?" She laughed. "The colonel is a terrible influence on you, you know."

"Yeah," Daniel answered with a fond smile for both his team mates. "I know. Are you busy or can I bring it down to you?"

"That's okay. I'll be in my lab," Sam answered, smiling to herself. It was true. She always loved the chance of sitting down together with Daniel to uncover the truth about, well, Life, the Universe and Everything, just the two of them. It'd been a while since they'd done that. SG-1's mission schedule was often hectic and they'd had back to back missions for the last few weeks now, something that gave them little time to work on anything else but the work directly related to the missions they were going on.

"Thanks, Sam. I'm on my way." Daniel hung up and gathered his notes, the curious object and a few reference books in his hands. His back felt stiff and achy from sitting at his desk all day and the walk to Sam's lab would do him good, he figured. Clicking off the lights and shutting the door, he walked towards the stairs that would take him one floor down to her lab. If they got this done quickly, Daniel decided a trip to the gym and a good run on the treadmill or a work out with Teal'c might be the next post on his agenda. That'd loosen up his strained muscles for sure.

 

&&&&&

 

"So, what do you think?" Daniel stood watching as Sam had scanned the outside of the object for him. As she worked, he kept busy trying to figure out what kind of writing the cylinder was covered in, but before he had a magnification of the writing, just seeing the scanned surface wasn't of much help. Instead he watched while Sam subjected the cylindrical object to various scanners. Balinsky had given it to him before he'd had a chance to do even preliminary testing, and thus it hadn't been scanned for neither dangers or for reference before he'd cleaned it and Sam now was doing the tactical scanning.

"Honestly, I don't know." Sam sat back. "As far as I can figure it's not emitting any form of energy. There's no apparent way to open it so I don't think it contains ay form of technology. It's nothing like I've ever seen before. I've a feeling there's more to this than just a nice round object with tiny writing on though. It feels advanced somehow. There's something about the material it's made of… I don't know, perhaps clay? I have to take some samples and test them." She shook the object slightly, before gently knocking on it with her knuckles. "It doesn't appear to be hollow, so I don't think it's a container either." Putting it down again, she added. "You said you thought the markings was writing. Perhaps it's a scroll of some kind."

"Mmm… what?" Looking up from his studying of the computer screen, Daniel gave Sam a confused look. "You think it's a scroll?" Daniel started pacing, thinking aloud. "That doesn't make sense. The markings are on the outside, not the inside. You think that instead of being a rolled-up piece of paper like our scrolls are, the people who made this wrote what they wanted to say onto the surface on it? But why make it so difficult to read?" Daniel asked, thinking out loud more than expecting Sam to answer his questions.

"I don't know. Maybe this thing contains some kind of secret and the people who made it didn't want anyone to know?" Sam guessed.

"Maybe," Daniel agreed, still focused on why the writing was so small. If there was a secret hidden within the text he had to be able to read it before he tried to figure out what the secret was. "It's impossible to manually write that small."

"I don't know," Sam said, "maybe their eyes are different from ours?"

Daniel nodded. "Could be. Okay, so, we're going on the assumption that the race that wrote this is extinct, but was more advanced than us and have left this behind. Why would they do that?"

Sam shrugged. "That's your department, Daniel."

"I know." Daniel sighed, stretched and rubbed his aching back.

"Is your back bothering you?" Sam asked concerned, stepping in front of him to stop his pacing.

"I've probably pulled a muscle or something," Daniel admitted.

"You sure?" Sam wasn't entirely sold on the idea and looked him over sceptically.

"I'm sure," Daniel insisted.

Not sensing anything else wrong, Sam believed him. "Okay. But you know I give a mean shoulder rub, so if you need anything, just ask?" Sam patted him gently on the shoulder, squeezing a little to emphasize her point.

"Thanks, Sam. I know you do." Daniel smiled.

"Listen, why don't we take a break? I could do with some coffee and your stomach's been rumbling since you got here."

"I could eat." Daniel agreed and rolled his shoulders. Putting his hands on his back he stretched mightily, which eased the ache. Now that Sam mentioned it, he was hungry. Starving, actually. "Just a sec, let's call Jack and Teal'c and see if they're up to some—" he was about to say lunch, but realised it was 1800 and dinner was a more appropriate term, "food."

 

&&&&&

 

Daniel ate with gusto, listening as Sam discussed the cylindrical artifact with Teal'c without any of them getting the wiser, but after finishing only half of the chicken casserole on his plate he put his cutlery to the side and started tearing a roll into pieces without eating them. A wave of queasiness came over him and the piece of cheesecake that had appealed to him before he started eating made his stomach turn when he now looked at it. He pushed it towards to Jack. "You want this?"

"Daniel?" Jack asked gently, looking at Daniel with concern. His friend had eaten like he'd not seen food in a week, but the sudden paleness of his face told Jack that something was up. Still, he accepted the cake with only a quirk of his eyebrow. Daniel raised his own eyebrow in response and shrugged, ducking his head a little and picking up his water taking a few small sips. Jack thought Daniel looked tired.

"Guess I wasn't as hungry as I thought," Daniel said with a hint of a smile.

"Are you unwell, DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked. He'd clearly watched the silent conversation between his friends.

"T's right," Jack said. "You do look a little green. You feeling okay?"

"I'm fine. I exaggerated how hungry I was, that's all. Listen, I've got to go. Sam, can I leave the artifact with you for a few hours? I've promised to help Dr. Lee with some translation and I've been putting it off, so I'd better go do that now when I remember. It won't take long."

"Sure," Sam smiled. "I want to do some more tests on it anyway."

"Thanks, I'll be back in a couple of hours." Daniel said, heading back to his office. The translation he needed to do had been lying in his inbox for two days and he was excited to get started with it. The translation he had promised to do was really interesting. There was something about the language in it that reminded him of the tiny writing on the artifact now In Sam's lab. If he could translate this first, perhaps it would be easier to translate the other artifact. It was just a matter of finding a point of reference, and neither the scroll nor the tablet now sitting in front of him was anything he'd seen before. The language was hieroglyphic in nature, but many languages they'd seen were based on symbols and pictographs instead of symbols for each letter like the Latin alphabet. Now, if he only could find the right reference point…

It was a few hours later when his phone rang.

"Daniel Jackson," Daniel put the finishing touches on the translation and picked the heavy tome off the ringing phone and snatched the receiver before the caller decided to hang up on him.

"Hey, Daniel. You've got to see this." Sam's excitement was coming through loud and clear.

"Yeah? What did you find?" Daniel was already standing, taking the tablet with him, along with his notes. He'd need to study them together.

"There's something inside the cylinder. It is a containment vessel after all."

"What do you mean inside it? Did you manage to open it? I thought you said it wasn't hollow."

"Just get down here, Daniel," Sam interrupted.

"Okay, I'm on my way." Getting to his feet, Daniel realised the ache in his back was gone and the queasiness was down to the slightest churning. Perhaps he'd make that trip to the gym tonight after all?

 

&&&&&

 

"According to the mission file there was nothing on P1N-552 that indicated that the cylinder was a container of some sort," Sam said. "You saw the telemetry. There was no indication of any civilization on that planet at all."

"I know. The only thing they found aside from this thing and some crumpled ruins," he tapped the edge of the opened cylinder, "were some strange readings on the soil samples, but the geologists haven't cracked what it is yet. Maybe you should look at that as well?"

"Maybe, but let's focus on this for now," Sam said. "Look!"

"There's a scroll inside it!" Daniel excitedly leaned over the bench to have a closer look. "How come the scanners didn't pick up on this?"

"The surface of that container must be extremely dense if it doesn't let any form of rays penetrate the outer hull. I did a CT, MRI, x-ray, you name it – nothing. There were no visible lid or hatches of any kind, but when I hooked it up to the computer, the thing just sprung open and revealed this scroll," Sam indicated the fragile-looking rolled up paper-like substance that was lying in one of the halves of the opened device.

"It clearly must have had some significant meaning to the people on P1N-552 since they sealed it off like that," Daniel mused as he bent closer to look at the scroll. "But why go to such lengths to hide the scroll when there's writing on the surface? I need to get started on translating the writing. It looks similar to the tablet from P3M-789 that Bill wanted me to translate." Daniel looked at Sam, eagerly studying the opened cylinder and the paper inside it. "I've never seen paper quite like that, thought. Have you?"

"No," Sam agreed. "I wanted to take a sample, but it looks so fragile, so I didn't dare touch it. I thought I'd wait for you for that."

Daniel nodded. "That's okay." After looking at the thing for a few moments he turned to Sam again. "How did you open it?"

"It just sprung open when I hooked it up to the computer. It must have reacted to an EM pulse, but I don't know what kind because there was no other equipment on that emits energy aside from the computer itself."

"Isn't that too easy?" Daniel asked, rubbing his back distractedly.

"Easy? What do you mean?"

"If the slightest EM pulse can open it, what's the point in making it so difficult to open by hand?"

"I can't say, Daniel."

"On the other hand," Daniel continued as if he hadn't heard her. "Perhaps the writing on the surface is a combination key that'll unlock it. There was no evidence of any technology on that planet, Sam, but they had to have something that emitted EM pulses since this opens. It's not carved; the writing is too neat for that. It's made by some sort of machinery."

"That's likely," Sam added eagerly, "also, it might respond only to a specific frequency. Maybe it doesn't even belong to the race that made it. Perhaps it ended up on P1N-552 some other way. Maybe someone took it and placed it there, or maybe it was lost and someone is looking for it?"

"Yes, that's possible. Or like we talked about earlier, it was purposefully left behind for some reason. This is really just a lot of guesswork, Sam. I have to study this parchment or whatever it is before we jump to any conclusions," Daniel said. "I'm afraid of moving it, though. Can we roll the entire table into the airlock lab on 17?"

"Sure," Sam started unhooking the leads from the cylinder. As soon as she did, it snapped shut, hiding its seams and the scroll completely again.

Daniel took the now closed cylinder off the table and started to study it more closely, shaking his head when he couldn't open it.

"Do you have something portable that emits the same form of energy as made it open?" Daniel asked.

"There's a computer in the lab, isn't there?"

"Not in the lab itself, but in the outer room there is," Daniel answered. To his joy the SGC had after several years managed to build a lab where the scientists could work in a completely protected environment to study ancient artifacts that were sensible to light, heat and air. "If it's as fragile as it looks you can open it in the outer room. That way I won't have to carry the scroll far." Daniel smiled. "Let's just hope it won't snap shut when I take it out of the container."

 

&&&&&

 

Daniel hung his blue Air Force issue jacket on the chair by the computer in the outer room and put a white lab coat and cotton gloves on. Sam hooked the cylinder up to the computer again, and Daniel watched as it smoothly revealed the scroll. After photographing it, he lifted the scroll out of the cylinder excruciatingly slowly and carried it over to the work bench inside the protected lab. The cylinder stayed open, revealing a smooth surface where the scroll had lain.

"Thanks, Sam," Daniel smiled before shutting the airlock between the protected room he was in and the outer lab. This was going to be fun. It was so rarely that he got to get down to the nitty-gritty lab work of archaeology and unravel an old scroll like this.

Satisfied that the nausea and back pain were completely gone, Daniel pulled a stool on rollers over to the table and settled down to study the scroll. Putting on the headpiece that both allowed him to dictate his finds and talk to the people outside the protected room, Daniel happily set to work.

First he cut off minuscule samples of the paper for Sam to study. He then photographed the scroll from all sides. Taking a pair of tweezers he very gently started to tease back the edge of the rolled up paper. It unrolled much more easily than he'd thought and despite the fragile appearance of it, it didn't break into a thousand shards as soon as he touched it. Either it wasn't as old as it looked or, Daniel mused, it was just as likely that it was well preserved because the cylinder it'd been contained in was air tight. Immediately writing appeared, and Daniel gave a small sigh of relief. Unlike the cylinder, the scroll was handwritten and the script was legible with the naked eye. He would not need to scan it to be able to read it. Daniel immediately saw that it looked like the tablet he'd tried to translate earlier in the evening. There must be some connection between P3M-789 and P1N-552. The reports he'd read on P3M-789 had shown the remnants of an advanced civilization that for centuries had managed to avoid the Goa'uld but that had been destroyed by a Goa'uld within the last few centuries and now taken as slaves or hosts or just fled. The team that'd gated there had never really found out. Perhaps this was the civilization that for some time resided on P1N-552 and left the scroll behind?

Sam was still standing in the outer room, looking at him, and Daniel straightened up and keyed the intercom. "It looks like it's covered in writing. It's no problem unrolling it so it shouldn't be a problem translating once I figure out the writing. Could you print out the scanned outside, since you're there anyway? The writing inside the scroll looks similar to the one on the outside, but I need the enhanced copies to make sure."

Sam gave him the thumbs up and went over to the computer. After she was done she put the paper through the slot in the airlock. While she'd been working on the print outs, Daniel had put the test tubes with the paper in the lock and she now took those with her.

"I'll take this back to the lab with me, and come back when I've done some preliminary testing, Daniel. We can scan the scroll then."

"Sure. Thanks for your help," Daniel said, completely engrossed in unrolling the paper-like scroll.

 

&&&&&

 

Sam hummed to herself as she waited for the elevator to take her up to level 17 and Daniel's lab. It was now past midnight and she didn't meet anyone as she walked her way through the hallways. The paper had shown some anomalies and was clearly alien. It wasn't quite like papyrus or cellulose-based paper, but there were many forms of writing material, and she was sure she'd figure out what it was eventually. If it was as resilient as Daniel had suggested, it might prove useful for long-term storage of paper copies. Walking past the various labs, she noted that she and Daniel weren't alone in working late. Light shone from several rooms and she greeted SG-22's geologist as she passed her work bench. "Hey, Clara. Have you seen the soil samples from P1N-552? SG-13's last mission?"

"Major Carter," she greeted. "No, I haven't. They should be around here though. Haven't they been analyzed yet?"

"Not as far as I could see."

"I'll go see if I can round them up for you then," Clara said.

"Wait, if they haven't been started on, would you mind doing a prelim? I'm in the airlock lab at the end of the corridor with Dr. Jackson."

"Sure, Major."

 

&&&&&

 

"Hey, Daniel, I've got Clara Clarkson to start on the soil samples, and I've done a prelim of the paper." Sam walked into the outer lab, looking for her friend, finding him bent over the unrolled document on the table in the middle of the room, completely engrossed in his work. "Did you manage to translate some of the text yet?"

"Hey, Sam. Yes, I think I recognize a few of the hieroglyphics. There's a connection with the translation Dr. Lee wanted me to do. I think the two planets are somehow connected."

"You said hieroglyphics. You didn't mean hieroglyphs?"

"No, I meant hieroglyphics," Daniel answered tiredly, stretching. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes.

"Okay. And what is the difference?" Sam patiently asked.

"Hieroglyphs are the written form of Egyptian, or rather, is one way to write Egyptian. But many languages use hieroglyph-like symbols. They're called hieroglyphics."

"I see. So the scroll isn't written in Egyptian or any language based on Ancient Egyptian?"

"Actually it is. The root is there since the people who made up the language decided to use hieroglyphs as bases for their words, but the relation to Goa'uld or even Egyptian is pretty remote."

"You said you recognised some of the words?"

"Not words, symbols, and yeah, there are a combination of symbols near the beginning of the text that might be translated into 'be warned' or 'woe to thee'."

"'Woe to thee'?" Sam said, chuckling. "That sounds… ominous and not exactly specific."

"I know," Daniel smiled. "It's not a lot to go on."

"What do you think it means?" Sam sat down on the chair by the desk in the outer room, dividing her attention between the screen in front of her that displayed real time footage of what presently was on the bench in the airlock lab, and Daniel.

"I don't know. It could be anything." Daniel said wearily. He shifted his position so he leaned a bit more forward, feeling tired and drained. Perhaps it was time to call it a night, he thought, realising how late it was.

"Isn't it obvious that it's a warning left behind by those who last lived on the planet?" Sam asked.

"Not necessarily. I have a theory though," Daniel winced in pain as his stomach cramped viciously, the nausea having reappeared.

"Hey, are you sure you're okay? You're looking green again. Are you going to be sick?" Sam was at her feet, opening the door to the airlock.

Daniel took a few deep breaths. "Nah, don't think so. I think I'm just tired." Grateful that he wasn't going to throw up, Daniel got to his feet as well.

"Get some sleep," Sam said, once Daniel had come out into the outer room.

"Thanks. I think I will." Daniel took off his gloves and lab coat. He'd catch a few hours of sleep in his quarters and get back up here to continue in the morning. He said good night to Sam and each went to their on-base quarters. However much he'd like to go home and sleep in his own bed, Daniel felt much too tired to go through the motions of changing into civilian clothing and drive home. "You get some sleep too."

"Night, Daniel," Sam said squeezing his arm. "We'll continue with this in the morning."

"Night. Thanks for your help," Daniel said, not being able to stifle a yawn.


	2. Chapter 2

PART TWO

 

The next morning Daniel woke up to no sign of either nausea or backache. He'd fallen asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow and had got about six hours of quality sleep. He was now ready to face a new day. In high spirits he knocked on Teal'c's door.

"Teal'c? You awake?"

"I am. Enter, DanielJackson."

"Morning. You want to get something to eat?" Daniel almost bounded into his friend's quarters.

"It would be my pleasure," Teal'c answered, bowing his head regally. "How are you faring this day? You appear much refreshed."

"I feel fine, Teal'c," Daniel answered with a genuine smile.

"That is good to hear." Daniel waited as Teal'c got ready and together they headed for the commissary on 22.

"Hey, guys," Jack called as he almost crashed into his two team mates as the three of them was about to enter the bustling mess hall.

"Jack," Daniel greeted, letting Jack walk first into the commissary. "Teal'c and I were just talking about heading to the gym after breakfast. Want to join us?"

"My knee's been kind of bothering me lately… I could do some weights though," Jack mused out loud. "Yeah, I'll join you."

"Good," Daniel said. "Now, let's get something to eat first. I'm starving."

Jack just looked at him. "Feeling better, I see. Good. I'll go get us a table. Get me some oatmeal, Daniel?"

"Sure. Coffee?" Daniel walked over to the drinks table, ready to get them whatever they wanted.

"Yeah, thanks. And apple juice."

"I'll have water," Teal'c added as he gathered trays for them.

"Coming right up," Daniel said, filling two mugs with coffee and a glass of apple juice for Jack, handing the drinks over to him to carry to their table. He poured some water for Teal'c and a glass of orange juice for himself. Putting the drinks on their trays Daniel and Teal'c went to stand in line to get their food while Jack went to find a table.

Daniel hadn't been kidding. Once again he was hungry. Jack had been right to give him that curious look. If he could chose Daniel usually skipped breakfast, or didn't eat it this early, but if he ate at this time of day he usually had to force the food down and never ate as much as he would if he had breakfast later. He hoped the nausea he'd experienced during dinner last night wouldn't come back today. If he did, Daniel knew a trip to the infirmary was inevitable.

When it was their turn, Daniel and Teal'c got food for the three of them and together they sat down to eat.

 

&&&&&

 

It was two hours later when Sam came looking for him. Breakfast had passed without any signs of nausea and unlike the previous night he'd finished everything on his plate. After the work out Daniel had showered and was now working in the lab where he'd worked the previous night. He'd just got started when Sam called his name over the intercom.

"Hey," Daniel greeted, looking up from his work. "Did you get some sleep?"

"Yeah, I slept like a log. Looks like you're feeling better today too," Sam added, noticing with amusement his still somewhat wet hair standing up in spikes here and there on his head. The paleness from last night was gone as well. "Got coffee," She said, putting a steaming mug down on the table by the computer.

"Thanks." Daniel said, immediately exiting the lab.

"Listen," Sam said when Daniel had downed half the cup and she'd had a few sips of her own coffee. "I just wanted to say hi, really, to see that you're okay. I've got to get back to my lab to supervise some tests I'm running. I'll see you later. I'll come get you at lunch time and we can catch up on the device then."

"Sure, that'd be great. I think I should be done with unrolling the scroll then and we can scan it. Thanks for the coffee!"

After Sam had left Daniel finished his drink before he sat down again to continue his work with the scroll. If his theory about the scroll and the tablet being written in the same language was right, it would be even more interesting to see what the two documents said. Starting something with what in effect said "woe to thee" had him curious as to what the text actually warned about.

 

&&&&&

 

At lunchtime Sam knocked on his door as promised, and they joined the rest of their team in the commissary. Daniel nursed his coffee and listened to his friends talk. The more he thought about it, the surer he was that there was some form of connection between the tablet and the scroll. As he'd unrolled the scroll he'd cross-referenced the symbols he saw with those of the tablet and a lot of them were alike, meaning that many of the words they spelled contained the same letters or symbols. Perhaps the content of one would explain the other?

After they'd eaten and Sam had scanned the now fully unrolled scroll, Daniel pulled up the mission reports from both missions. SG-13's report was sketchy as they hadn't been able to finish it since they'd been shipped out again immediately, but there was enough information for Daniel to get a general idea and the MALP's initial recon pictures were good, so he had something to work with till the report came in.

Comparing the two reports he found that there was nothing even remotely similar in the ruins in the desert on P1N-552 or the high tech-looking deserted cities of P3M-789. Both mission reports stated that there was no one left to talk to and no apparent signs of recent civilization. There was no conclusive answer to why 789 had been abandoned, but there were signs of the Goa'uld having been there.

Putting the reports aside, Daniel picked up the closed cylinder containing the scroll and the tablet, laying them side by side on his desk. The tablet looked like it'd been a part of a wall at one point. Daniel passed the portable little naquada scanner he kept in his desk drawer over both objects. The tablet showed trace amounts, but the cylinder was clean. Studying it further Daniel realised it looked like the glazed, ordinary ceramic it probably also was made of. Sam hadn't said anything to contradict this, so Daniel could be relatively sure it was ceramic. Making a mental note to do a carbon dating later, he put the scanner away and went back to studying the two objects.

Ordinary ceramic or not, the cylinder had to contain some form of technology as it could seal itself completely with no apparent seams of any kind. Neither he nor Sam had found any power source in it, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any, its reaction to the computer's EM pulse was proof of that. Sam would know if the ceramic-like material had properties in its makeup that would allow for the reaction with the EM pulse from the computer. Sending her an email asking if she'd found anything that would explain the reaction to the EM pulse, he went back to studying the cylinder. Daniel sighed and rubbed his back. His theories didn't prove anything else than what he'd already learned. Perhaps the scans would reveal something?

Daniel was pulling up the scanned files on his computer when there was a knock on his door.

"Hey, Daniel, watcha doing?" Jack sauntered into his office, picking up the cylinder, studying it. "Is this the thing Carter's squeeing about?"

"Maybe… Probably," Daniel answered cautiously, looking up from his scrutinizing of the tablet. "Put that back, would you? Why is Sam, um… squeeing about this?"

"Oh, I don't know. She said something about the makeup of the ceramic or something or other. I have no idea what she was talking about."

"She got my email then?" Daniel asked.

"She didn't say anything about an email," Jack said, putting the cylindrical device back on Daniel's cluttered desk.

"I sent Sam an email to ask if she had found out anything about why the cylinder reacts to EM pulses."

"Sure. Yeah, she said something about that."

"So she found something then? What did she say?"

"Daniel. You know I don't understand half of what you two say half the time."

Daniel sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'll give her a call later," He turned to face Jack. "So, what brings you here?"

"How's your back?" Jack picked the cylinder up again

"My back? What's that got to do with anything?" Daniel raised his eyebrow, motioning for Jack to put the cylinder back down again. "And put that back down."

"Carter tattled," Jack said cautiously, shrugging. "I couldn't see anything wrong with you when we were in the gym, but at least you're not as green as you were during dinner last night, so I guess you're not only saying you feel a lot better but actually are. Feeling better that is."

"Yeah," Daniel nodded. "So, Sam told on me?" Daniel wasn't worried in the least. "Like I said to her, I think I just pulled a muscle." They were all friends, very good friends. His back had hurt; she was worried. Jack was their friend and their boss. She had the right to tell him; actually, it was her duty.

"Yeah. So what is up with your back?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." He was fine too. No nausea or dizziness either. He could feel he'd worked out hard by how his muscles dully ached but nothing hurt and the ache he was feeling was definitely not like the pain he'd experienced for a while the previous day, before it'd had gone away, making him forget about it till Jack brought the subject up now. If they were called out for a search and rescue now, he was good to go. No problem running around a planet shooting bad guys and rescuing good guys. He felt fine. Really. He did, didn't he? Jack kept staring at him, so something must be wrong.

"Yeah? So why are you sitting in that awkward position then?" Jack asked, crossing his arms over his chest, looking very much like he knew something Daniel didn't.

"Wh-what?" Annoyed, Daniel asked, "Jack, what are you talking about?"

"You're leaning forward, resting your weight on your arms and your thighs."

Now Daniel was thoroughly confused. "Jack?"

"It's true. Look at you." Jack pulled a stool over and sat down, mimicking Daniel's forward-leaning position, elbows on the table, butt slightly raised from the seat of the chair.

Confused, Daniel looked at his friend, checking how he himself was sitting. Jack was right. He was leaning forward. His back protested when he sat back. Not being able to hide the small grimace that followed the motion Daniel sighed. "My back is a little tense, so what. It's not all that strange, Jack, I'm used to sitting here for hours at the time. You know that."

"Funny you haven't mentioned it before then," Jack said sarcastically.

"You're the one who brought it up," Daniel said, attempting to distract Jack.

"No, Daniel. My back is tense, yours hurts."

"So it's new," Daniel said, not really feeling like playing hide and seek with both Jack and the truth.

"Okay," Jack said slowly. "Well, then I think you need to sit a little less at your desk and move a bit more around," he said.

"Maybe I do," Daniel said, knowing Jack knew full well how much exercise Daniel got and how little he actually sat in his chair. "Or maybe I'm getting old."

"Old?" Jack's eyebrows rose almost to his hairline and he laughed. "Listen to you. If you're getting old, what am I then? Ancient."

"Fine," Daniel spat out. "I'm getting old...er," Daniel conceded.

Jack just laughed.

"You're not helping. I feel fine. Truly, I do." Daniel was starting to get angry. Why was Jack pestering him about his back? It didn't hurt…much, Daniel thought, inwardly sighing. Darn, he'd been sure it was gone and here Jack comes and outs him without his even knowing. Daniel hung his head. He'd been busted without even knowing something had been wrong.

"Infirmary, now," Jack commanded, rising from his own chair.

"What? Jack, that's not necessary," Daniel protested. "I'm sure I've only pulled a muscle, and I'm sure that's all it is. So, okay it's taken longer than a day to snap back, but I'm fine. Besides, don't you have anything better to do? Aren't you and General Hammond up to your elbows in bureaucracy? Isn't Major Davis coming here today? I clearly remember you grouching about this meeting for, oh, the last week!"

"Yes, we are, and yes, he is, Daniel. But that's not the point. I want you to get your back checked out. And if it's only a pulled muscle, where did the nausea come from? If a strained muscle is all it is, the doc will tell you." Jack pulled Daniel gently to his feet. "Also, you need a break from all this translating. Especially if you get stiff by sitting around," Jack added, rubbing it in, smirking as Daniel scowled at him. "And I could probably use your help wrestling with Davis."

"I'm sure you could. But I haven't even got started on the translation yet! Jack, I don't have time for this." Daniel pulled his arm out of Jack's grasp.

"Humor me. It won't take long. I told Doc Warner that we'd be by so he's waiting for you," Jack insisted, holding Daniel's gaze. "You know our next mission is going to be a rough one with that 30-click hike. I need you to be at your best."

"That was low, Jack, but yeah, I guess you're right." Sighing with frustration, but knowing there was no way to get around this, Daniel followed Jack to the infirmary. As he walked, he realised that the pain was indeed starting to come back, but it was nothing like it'd been the day before.

 

&&&&&

 

Hours later Daniel was lying prone on the infirmary bed, stripped down to his socks and boxers. Folding his arms under the pillow his head was resting on, Daniel drifted. After going through a series of neurological tests regarding sensibility, coordination and strength Warner was now poking at his spine and back muscles, asking questions about numbness and feeling and pain that Daniel only halfway listened to. Instead he went back to thinking about the tablet and the scroll.

Unless it was very old, the tablet didn't look like it belonged to a high-tech civilization like the one on 789. As it was written in the same script as the scroll, it might have belonged to the people on 552, or those who left the scroll behind there, meaning it might belong to 789 after all. That is if the people on 789 were the race that'd left the scroll on 552…. Daniel was shaking his head at his thinking in circles when it suddenly struck him that maybe the people from 789 originated from 552 but for some reason had deserted it. Perhaps the Goa'uld had destroyed their new world so they'd fled back to 552 to start anew. If what he'd been able to glean from the pictures in the mission reports it certainly fitted with the crumbled ruins of 552 and the highly advanced 789. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure the ruins and the remnants of the highly advanced civilization had several architectural similarities. As Warner hit what definitely was a sore muscle, Daniel groaned and realised what he hadn't thought of before. The ruins looked like a less sophisticated version of the destroyed buildings on 789.

"You okay?" Dr. Warner asked, taking his hands away from Daniel's back. "Did I find the right spot?"

"Ow. I guess so."

"Good, let me just check this," Warner said, continuing his exam.

Going through the motions of Warner's test and wondering if the doc wasn't finished soon, Daniel went back to thinking about the two planets and their artefacts. There were no evident signs on 552 of the Goa'uld ever having been there, but as SG-13 only had found this one scroll he couldn't be sure of them never having been there. Many civilizations had records dating thousands of years back in time, most of which showed some sort of connection with the Goa'uld at one point or other in their history. He really needed to see these planets himself to find out more.

"Any of this hurt?" Dr. Warner's voice interrupted his thoughts, pressing his palms down over a new place on Daniel's back.

"No. Can I go now?" Daniel sat up, impatient to get back to work.

"Yes, you may," Dr. Warner answered a little sourly at the apparent impatience and lack of concentration from his patient.

"Good, thanks," Daniel put his pants on and pulled his t-shirt over his head.

"Just a moment, Dr. Jackson," Warner said as soon as Daniel's head popped through the neck opening of the t-shirt. "Colonel O'Neill didn't bring you down here for nothing. I can't find anything immediately wrong with your back and the x-ray shows no damage to your spine or ribs. I also can't detect any neurological damage. Your vitals are also good. However, I want to take some blood to see if there's anything going on that the tests we've done so far haven't detected."

"It's probably just a pulled muscle," Daniel repeated for the umpteenth time. "I'm fine. Really." Why did he have to justify his wellbeing to everyone these last couple of days? He was fine. Sure his back wasn't completely pain free, but it was a pulled muscle! It would twinge and throb now and again.

"Yes, that is likely. However, according to Colonel O'Neill, you suffered nausea last night. I won't discount that just yet. Any headache or nausea now?"

"No."

"Have you eaten today?"

"Yes," Daniel answered impatiently. Seeing the annoyed look on the doctor's face he moderated his voice. "I'm sorry. Look, I've had both breakfast and lunch. And everything's staying where it should be."

"Good. Any other symptoms or pain?"

Daniel counted to ten before answering. "No. You said I could go," Daniel said, fastening his belt when Warner didn't immediately continue. He knew he was being overly impatient, but this little exam had gone on for hours now and Daniel wanted to get back to work.

"Yes, and you may." Warner looked up from writing his findings in Daniel's chart.

"Thanks." Daniel didn't even listen as Warner continued to tell him to be careful and come back as soon as he felt anything out of the ordinary. If Daniel was a pain in the ass, Warner was up there with him, Daniel decided, sending Jack a sympathetic thought and reminding himself to keep the nagging down a bit in the future. The only problem was that when he got excited about something, he completely forgot about his good intentions. Speaking of which, he'd better see if he could get in touch with Balinsky to get some more information on 552. Walter would know when they were scheduled to return. Picking up the phone in the hallway outside the infirmary he called the control room.

"Hi, it's Dr. Jackson. When is SG-13 due to return?"

"In two days," Walter answered.

"Okay. When are they due their next check-in?"

"In about an hour, sir."

"Great. When they call in, could you give me a call? I need to talk to Dr. Balinsky."

"No problem, sir."

"Thanks, Walter."

 

&&&&&

 

"Cameron, its Daniel, how is things?" Daniel said exactly an hour later, putting the earpiece in place and sitting down at the control panel beside Walter.

"I'm fine. We're having a blast with these people," Balinsky said, smiling, indicating the prospering village behind him. "It looks like they're enjoying their new home very much."

"That's great. Listen, I need to ask you about something. You remember P1N-552?"

"The deserted desert, sure. What about it? Have you figured out that thing I gave you?"

"Not yet. While you were there, did you see any signs of there having been a Goa'uld there at one point? Or that another advanced civilization once might have lived there?"

Balinsky shook his head. "No, we didn't find anything. It actually looked like the place had been thoroughly cleaned up. I think someone wanted to erase all evidence of there ever having lived someone there."

"That's strange. The ruins are still there," Daniel said. "Perhaps that's why they look so badly off. Maybe the people who lived there destroyed them so no one would investigate too thoroughly. Perhaps we should check them out after all…" Daniel mused out loud.

"Maybe, but you yourself said those were too dangerous to explore. Besides they were too crumpled to give us much information."

"My point exactly. If they were purposefully ruined, we should be able to find evidence of it." Eager now, Daniel decided that they had to go to both 552 and 789. He'd better get some serious translating done and soon! Turning back to Balinsky he asked "You said the place looked like it'd been cleaned out. Were there any signs of that having been done recently?"

"I don't know. I just thought it looked like that since there were places where there obviously earlier had been panels of writing that clearly had been removed and we found absolutely nothing in terms of shards or broken pottery or any other signs of there ever having lived someone there. There was one wall on the ruins that looked like it had a slot where something might fit in, but the thing that was supposed to fit in there was missing."

"You don't suppose the cylinder you gave me would fit in there?" Daniel asked, suddenly having a thought. What if the destroyed ruins were a hoax, an illusion? Maybe this race could hide its existence from whomever they wanted to hide it from? That'd certainly explain the connection between the two worlds. And if the civilization that lived there or once lived there, were that advanced then perhaps they could be new allies? The Nox were still out there, but Daniel hadn't spoken to Lya or the others for a good long while. Perhaps they would know something about either planet that could aid in the investigation?

"Daniel? You there?" Balinsky asked, looking intently at the MALP's camera as if he could see Daniel through the wormhole.

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking. Thanks for your help. Listen, if you remember anything else about that place, let me know, okay?"

"Sure."

"Is there anything else?" Walter asked of Balinsky.

"No, I don't think so. We're all good here. We'll call back in six hours as agreed."

"Good."

"SG-13 out."

The wormhole disconnected and the screen in front of Daniel went black, going back into standby mode. "Thanks for your help, Walter."

"You're welcome, sir," Walter said.

Daniel returned to his office. He had a lot of work to do, and he'd better talk to General Hammond as well. If what he thought was true, there could be an advanced civilization hiding out there. Thinking of the warning on the scroll he sat down at his computer, starting the meticulous and laborious process of translating the alien text. Who'd issued the warning and was it a warning to the people who lived on 552 or 789 or to someone else altogether? If he was lucky the General was still in his office, as he too had a tendency to work very late. Picking up his phone, he called Hammond's aide.

 

&&&&&

 

"General?" Daniel knocked on the doorframe of the general's office, the door open as it almost always was.

"Come in, Dr. Jackson. What can I do for you?" General Hammond looked up from his computer and waved Daniel over.

"I have a mission for us, sir. If it's what I think it is, it could be big." Daniel walked into the office and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the Hammond's desk.

"What is it?" General Hammond asked.

"I think I've found evidence of an advanced civilization in hiding," Daniel said, explaining about what he and Sam had found so far.

"Okay. We'll schedule a briefing for 1000 tomorrow morning. From what you say, it sounds like it merits further investigation."

"Thanks, sir." Daniel walked back to his office and started to write a report with what he'd found so far. With that done, he started to work on the translation itself. As the writing was hieroglyphic, he had several references he could work with. Although many of the planets they visited at one point were occupied by the Goa'uld, it wasn't always the Goa'uld that had transplanted them to those planets, which meant that the peoples living on these planets had their original language with them when they came there. Unless the Goa'uld had wiped that language from existence, something Daniel sadly admitted often happened, the original writing often lived on as the population developed. However, not all civilizations cared about their ancient texts or architecture and destroyed it them when the population grew and they needed more space. Daniel hoped that the people who inhabited these two planets had more respect for their past.


	3. Chapter 3

PART THREE

 

Daniel was deep in thought when the phone rang.

"Hey, how are you doing?" Sam said when Daniel picked up the phone. "I just talked to Janet and while I was there, she mentioned that the colonel had dragged you in there. How's the back?"

"What were you doing in the infirmary?" Daniel asked, avoiding answering Sam's question altogether.

"I was discussing what kind of gift to get Cassie for her birthday," Sam said.

"Mmm. You sure you're fine?" Daniel asked, remembering that Cassie did indeed have her birthday soon.

"Yes, why?"

"Just wondering. You're not starting to have back problems?"

"No, why would I? Are you contagious?"

"Not that I know of," Daniel said after thinking about it for a moment. "Warner would have told me. I was just wondering if perhaps it was something the cylinder may have caused since I felt just fine before starting to work on it."

"I can run some tests if you'd like, but I feel perfectly fine, Daniel," Sam said. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. And thanks. We've run across some strange things over the years, so who knows?"

"I'll let you know if I find anything. I've got to go. Talk to you later."

"Sure. Bye Sam," Daniel hung up and went back to his work. If there was something with that cylinder they couldn't figure out, there wasn't much he could do. The writing, however, was reminding him of an archaic Goa'uld dialect he'd seen somewhere...

 

&&&&&

 

It was late when Daniel finally decided to quit for the night. Looking at the clock on his computer screen, Daniel realised he'd worked half the night away again. It was now 1 in the morning. His mind felt like mush, but his body was restless with pent-up energy from sitting at the computer all day but also from excitement as to what they might find if Hammond sanctioned the mission. Walking around his office to get the kink out of his back and restore some circulation Daniel pondered if he should go home or just sleep on base. He hadn't been hungry when Jack had called to ask if he wanted to grab some food earlier when he'd called to check how it'd gone with Warner, and he still wasn't. Drinking the last of the coffee in his mug, Daniel headed for the lockers, the surface and his own bed.

As he drove home he was halted by a vicious stomach cramp and it was all he could do to keep the car straight. Grateful there was very little traffic, Daniel breathed hard, shocked by the severity of the cramp and the accompanying nausea. He pulled onto the side of the road. What on earth was going on with him these days? It took him a few moments to calm down again. Now he was confused. Was he hungry after all? He couldn't actually tell. Perhaps he should have taken Jack up on the offer for dinner after all. The cramp hadn't felt like a hunger pang though. Putting the thought of food aside for now, Daniel put all his concentration into driving and headed home.

Pacing his living room for a while, not feeling sleepy because of the pain, he picked up book after book, looking at them for a moment, leafing through a few pages, before putting them back down again, not really interested after all. He was restless and pondered what to do. Finally deciding he should try some food after all, Daniel headed for the kitchen. Looking at the contents of his fridge, he contemplated the cramps. There was something about them that nagged at him, wanting his attention. He just couldn't figure out what it was. He'd never experienced anything like it before, and he'd been much hungrier than he was now. Granted he'd never actually starved, but he'd been very hungry and knew how his stomach acted when he was that hungry. It was nothing like how it acted now. Feeling a little nauseous again, he wondered if he'd eaten something he shouldn't have. As he thought back over the last few days, Daniel couldn't think of anything he'd eaten or drunk that could cause that kind of cramping. Shutting the refrigerator door he sat down at the kitchen table munching on some dry cereal instead, leafing through the papers that lay there, not feeling interested in doing anything with either of them. Longing to stretch out in the comfort of his bed, Daniel finished his snack and went to bed.

He had only slept for a few hours when a cramp tore him from sleep. Pushing away the covers he curled up on his side, moaning and putting all the effort he could muster into willing it away. Unlike the previous time, the cramp didn't go completely away now and it settled into a dull roar. Knowing he'd not get more sleep, Daniel turned onto his back again, cradled his head in one hand and rested the other on his belly, staring up at the ceiling, rubbing at his stomach unconsciously. Although his stomach had quit cramping, he wasn't feeling all that good now, and he pulled the covers up to his chin, shivering slightly despite the balmy breeze coming through the open window. Thinking about the coming mission, he couldn't be bothered with getting up and start a new day just yet. He needed all the rest he could get.

 

&&&&&

 

"The tablet is part of a judicial text that talks about something called Tuberous." Daniel said the next morning as SG-1 was gathered around the briefing room table. "The fragment from 789 is too small for me to get any inkling on what the cause for this law is or why it's written on what must have been part of a wall. However, the name Tuberous is clear and mentioned two times in the small portion of text so it's safe to assume that it's a name of either a city on 789 or the name the people had for the world itself. The scroll is signed by Tamram, or something to that effect, who is a scientist connected to the temple of Trusla in the land of Tubris. I think the deteriorated ruins on 552 are the temple of Trusla and that the Tuberous people became the Tubris when they fled to 552."

Clicking the buttons that rolled the screen up and projector off and turning the lights on again Daniel sat down in his chair again, finished with the presentation of his finds.

"Was it this Tamram himself who issued the warning or did he do it on behalf of someone else?" General Hammond asked.

"That's what's been bugging me the entire time I've worked on this. The text is annoyingly vague, as if either it's not a real warning or this Tamram was afraid to actually say who issued it. It might also be that what or who he warned about had no name, like we've learned that the Goa'uld sometimes forbid their slaves to know, especially if it's one as powerful as Anubis. The scroll also makes me think of the warning note Jack sent from P4C-970 warning us not to go there."

"Go where?" Jack asked, confused.

"The Aschen planet."

"Ah," Jack said. "Does the scroll warn us to not go there as well?"

Daniel sighed, knowing Jack was pulling his leg. "No, Jack. It doesn't."

"You think the people of P3M-789 wrote the scroll to the people on P1N-552 as a warning as to not visit 789?" Hammond asked.

"Maybe; as I said, the scroll is not clear as to whom the warning is intended for." Daniel rubbed his forehead. "The fact that they have the same language certainly leads me to believe there is a connection, but there's really only one way to find out."

"So, which planet do we go to first then?" Sam asked.

"552, it's where the scroll was found."

"Doesn't the scroll elaborate more? It was pretty long. What about the cylinder itself?" Sam asked. "And is it likely that it's Anubis who once destroyed 789? He's been out in the fringes for so long that we don't know much about the extent of what he's been up to since he came back."

"Also, he is patient enough to chase a population across the galaxy if it has something he especially desires," Teal'c added.

Daniel nodded. "I've managed to translate almost everything on the tablet and the entire scroll. Once I found a reference point, it wasn't very difficult. Tamram writes about how his people have being been chased all over the galaxy by a powerful being. He's not very detailed in his description of what this being is after, but it's very clear that this Goa'uld, which we likely can assume it is, has done some very bad things to his people. Tamram explains that this being has been torturing his people for centuries and never given up on following them wherever they fled. I don't think 789 is the only planet they inhabited after initially fleeing from 552. I also think Tamram wrote this scroll as a last resort and that they've hidden the warning inside the scroll instead of writing it somewhere for everyone to see in hopes that the people who find the waning would be able to help. The emptiness of 552 should be enough in itself to keep most curious explorers away. Also, we know most advanced societies we've met view Earth as relatively primitive when it comes to technology so it's likely that they wouldn't want just anyone to seek them out."

"We're not the only people sending teams through the Stargate on recon missions," General Hammond said. "Someone else could have destroyed those buildings on 552."

"True, but if someone else did it, why would they destroy the Tuberous or to prevent anyone from searching for the population on 552?" Daniel said, "The chance that we're not the first ones is always there. It hasn't stopped us before and I don't see why it should now." Daniel shifted in his seat. His stomach hadn't got worse since those cramps he had during the night, but it hadn't got better, either, and he was starting to feel a little sore with the persistent ache. Knowing a trip to see Janet was unavoidable; he rubbed his stomach and sighed inwardly.

"If it is Anubis who did chased Tamram's people across the galaxy this before he regained human form, or at least the semblance of one, he might not have been perceived as a god the way we know the Goa'uld to portray themselves as, but rather a god that couldn't be seen or heard, but whose actions were the only evidence of his existence. We've seen the suffering Tamram describes his people going through many times. I'd say we can safely assume Anubis has had something to do with this. Tamram isn't specific but we've seen that Anubis is that much more evil than the rest of the Goa'uld we've encountered. If these people really are advanced and have been able to find a way to hide, I'm sure they have something that Anubis would very much like for himself."

"Are you sure it's Anubis who's behind the destruction of 789?" Hammond asked.

"No, I'm not. But I'm guessing it is at least likely. We won't know unless we go there, sir."

"Yes, let's go see for ourselves," Jack interrupted, impatiently drumming his fingers on the table, looking ready to spring from his chair any second. "The MALP shows no recent activity and there's no sign of anyone recently having been on either planet except us. I'd say there's no danger in us going, sir."

"Agreed," General Hammond nodded. "You have a go. But be careful, people."

The general had barely finished standing before Jack was out the door, Sam and Teal'c right on his heels, Daniel a little behind them as the stomach ache prevented him from moving quite as fast as he'd liked.

Shaking his head at the antics of his premiere team, Hammond retreated to his office, pondering the briefing. If Dr. Jackson was right, there might be a new formidable ally out there.

"Guys, I'm running out of allergy pills, so I'm just going to go see Janet. Meet you in the Gateroom," Daniel said, pushing the button for 21 once they'd reached the elevator. Daniel figured there was no need worrying his friends further. If there was something wrong with him Janet would let them know. Although Daniel couldn't exactly say he was in pain, the cramp that came over him as he drove from the mountain had given him a scare. Since it'd left him with a constant ache, something was up, and knowing both Janet and his team would give him grief if he was sick and didn't let them know, he opted for doing the responsible thing.

"Sure," Jack said, glancing at Daniel, who stood impatiently leaning against the doorframe of the elevator.

Daniel spotted Janet as soon as he entered the infirmary and he walked over to her. "Hey, Janet, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"I don't really have the time now, Daniel," Janet said, indicating the infirmary, which was full of teams waiting for their post-mission exams.

"It'll just take a moment," Daniel said, explaining his errand.

"Okay," Janet indicated for Daniel to follow her to her office. "What's up?"

Daniel bit his lip, wondering how to breach his other problem.

"What is it?" Janet asked impatiently, looking up from writing the prescription. "I knew you were about to run out of your allergy medication, but you never come here just to get that. I'd planned on giving you them when you get back from your mission."

Daniel nodded. "I know, but my stomach's been bothering me, and since it's not completely gone, I figured you'd want to know."

"I do. Could you elaborate?" Janet said, looking Daniel over critically.

Daniel explained about the cramps. "I didn't feel all that well this morning, but it got much better after I got up. But you know how angry Jack gets if I don't at least talk to you before a mission."

Janet nodded. "Are you still in pain?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, not really. It's been more like a dull ache ever since."

"Let's have a look, then."

 

&&&&&

 

"I can't find anything immediately wrong," Janet said after finishing her exam. "Your stomach is a bit tender, but everything else looks good, so far. It's most likely muscular and," Janet looked through Daniel's file, "connected to the pulled muscle in your back. Pain can make you nauseous so I'll give you an anti-inflammatory and an anti-emetic. As you say you're better and the pain isn't hindering your movement, I'm releasing you. However, I want you back here the minute you get back from the mission, okay?"

"Thanks, Janet." Daniel said, accepting the two pills and the glass of water Janet handed him, "We're scheduled to get back tonight, so I'll see you then."

 

&&&&&

 

"What took you so long?" Jack asked once Daniel entered the Gateroom.

Daniel shrugged, not feeling like letting his friends know he'd felt unwell since Janet let him go. "Busy day in the infirmary," he explained.

"Okay, let's go," Jack said, indicating for the gate technician to start the dialling procedure.

"I should have brought my Abydonian robes," Daniel said as soon as SG-1 exited the wormhole and started walking towards the crumbling ruins in the distance. The wind had whipped his hat off twice within the short few minutes they'd been on 552. Irritated, Daniel tucked it into a pocket and wrapped the bandana around his head instead.

"Why's that?" Jack asked, squinting through his sunglasses at the sandy horizon and pulling at the brim of his cap.

"They give much better protection against this wind than these clothes." Daniel tugged at his vest, adjusting the straps to his heavy backpack.

"There's no sign of an approaching storm," Sam added. "We should be fine."

As they started walking, Daniel looked around. It 552 was looked exactly like he'd seen on the footage and as like Balinsky had described; only desert as far as the eye could see. The planet was mostly flat with very few hillsides or places of shelter at all. The only thing as far as they could see was the Stargate and the ruins. The UAV had done a scan, but it hadn't revealed any other ruins or other signs of habitation.

"So, how much time do you think you need?" Jack asked.

Daniel looked at him, blinking.

"Dumb question," Jack muttered, not without humour, and sped up to walk alongside Teal'c. "Let's make this quick people."

Nodding, Daniel too increased his pace, and together they made good time towards what appeared to be left of the civilization on this planet. It was early morning planet side but it was already getting hot and the wind was although not very strong, still whipping around them incessantly. Yawning and adjusting the vest once again, Daniel started to jog in an attempt to rid himself of the lethargy that had come over him during the restless night. After he'd woken up last night he'd dozed on and off a few times, but never really fallen asleep. The ache in his stomach had been constant and when the rain started to fall around 6 in the morning he'd given up, taken two Tylenol and a long cold shower. The shower had woken him a little, two mugs of coffee had woken him further, but the ache was still there, the Tylenol having had no effect. Daniel was used to going on little sleep. The anti-inflammatory did nothing for his discomfort, but the anti-emetic had helped somewhat. However, pain was now a constant nagging pain that never quite got really bad, but kept making him uncomfortable, staying at the same level as it had during the briefing. He'd managed to eat some more cereal for breakfast but his stomach was now starting to complain about that, roiling slightly. Sighing in frustration, he ignored his complaining body and concentrated on the ruins ahead.

From what he could see the buildings looked round in structure, almost cylindrical. What he could see of standing walls were all curved.

"Would you look at that," Jack said. "They've built desert-igloos."

Sam rolled her eyes. "Sir, there's no such thing as igloos in the desert. The people who built this didn't need to preserve heat. That's what the igloos are for."

"I know that, Carter!" Jack growled.

"Yes, sir." Sam smiled.

"I'm just saying that they look like igloos," Jack continued.

"I understand, sir," Sam's grin widened and Jack gave her a mock-stare.

After a few minutes they were at the ruins and Daniel immediately set to work. Balinsky had done a good job of filming them and the UAV had done an arial survey, so Daniel knew where the crevice the cylinder was supposed to fit in. However, he was eager to find more evidence of the civilization. Balinsky had said the planet looked like it'd been cleaned out, but Daniel was a trained archaeologist and knew to look for evidence of civilization where most people wouldn't.

"Hey, Daniel, not so fast," Jack said. "Let's secure the area first, okay?"

Embarrassed over not having thought about that himself Daniel nodded and sat down at a convenient nearby boulder while Teal'c and Jack searched the outskirts of the ruins for any signs of danger. He was starting to feel nauseous now, despite the pill, and really could do with the rest.

"Hey, you okay?" Sam asked, coming to stand beside him. She'd been scanning the area immediately around where Daniel sat and was worried when he slumped down on the rock.

"Yeah, I'm okay." Taking out his canteen Daniel drank a little of the water, handing the container to Sam.

Sam shook her head. "No, thanks. Is your back starting to bother you again?"

"No, I just didn't get much sleep last night. I'm just tired and a little sick to my stomach from too little sleep," Daniel said, putting the canteen away and stifling a yawn to emphasize his point.

"Yeah, I'll bet. You've not exactly been taking it easy lately. You should eat something." Sam handed Daniel a power bar, and nodding his thanks, Daniel tore a small bite, chewing slowly, relieved when the food stayed down.

"I know," Daniel agreed, knowing full well what she meant. "None of us has."

Sam smiled. "We don't really know how to, I think."

"Very true," Daniel smiled back, standing up as Teal'c and Jack returned, putting the half-eaten power bar in his pocket and adjusting his glasses. "Anything?"

"Nope, but some of these ruins look very unstable. I'd say we stay on the perimeter for now and keep a look out." Jack said, coming to stand beside Daniel who now was studying the deteriorated rounded structure of a wall immediately in front of them.

"Ah, sir," Sam said. "I get some strange readings here. It's like there's a force field of some kind. It's fluctuating."

"Where?" Jack asked.

"Inside the ruins," Sam pointed towards a pile of rubble and started walking towards the spot she'd been indicated, scanning as she went. "These ruins are definitely emitting some form of energy."

"We didn't see anything," Jack said, looking around as if checking if he'd missed anything.

"Nor did we feel it," Teal'c added.

"We should have gone closer," Jack mused.

"Indeed."

"Maybe it's like I thought earlier," Daniel said, walking directly behind Sam. "I think it's an illusion created to let people think there are ruins here, when there really aren't. Or maybe there's some of these are real ruins and the people who lived here made an illusion of there being more?" Daniel stopped by a boulder that looked like half a wall of what might have been a house, launching into what Jack called his lecturing mode. "This wall looks destroyed by time and wear. And this," he walked on towards a pile of indistinguishable rubble, "is most probably a crumbled pillar. This however," Daniel walked further, past several walls and pillars towards what looked like an ordinary pile of rubble, "is not. Look at how the stones are placed. They haven't fallen, they've been placed there." Putting his hand forward, the pile of rubble fluctuated like an unstable image, and he pulled back quickly, rubbing his hand at his leg, trying to remove the tingling sensation in his fingers, hissing with the pain and numbness from the force shield. "It's an illusion. Apparently the Tuberous or Tubris, or whatever these people are called, didn't expect someone trained to come look at the ruins. This ruin," he indicated the illusion in front of him "is just a jumble of rubble. There's no structure to it, no sense."

Walking in a half-circle along the rounded outline of the illusion Daniel suddenly stopped when they came to what looked like a precariously leaning piece of wall or pillar leaned up across another. It looked as if it was ready to fall just by them looking at it. "Look at this. I was wrong when I told Balinsky that the ruins were unstable. I should have detected it when I looked at the UAV footage."

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"That structure. It should have fallen. Unless it's an illusion or being held up by something we can't see, it's completely unnatural."

"I agree, sir," Sam said. "I don't know why I didn't see this before either, but Daniel is right. Everything about this is all wrong."

"So, what do we do now?" Jack asked, rising his P90, ready for anything.

"We find a way in," Daniel said.


	4. Chapter 4

PART FOUR

 

"You really think that putting that cylinder back in the crevice SG-13 found will reveal an advanced society like the Nox or Asgard hiding somewhere on this planet?" Jack asked, somewhat impatient when Daniel had been working on the scant texts they found for two hours and not yet attempted to find the placement for the cylinder. Instead he was sitting cross-legged at the base of one of the real ruins, books and brushes and tools spread out around him.

"I don't know," Daniel put down his brushes and turned to face the rest of his team that were standing around where he worked, keeping an eye on the surrounding area, as well as looking for hints of this apparent advanced civilization. "I want to see if I can find anything else that might lead us to them. The cylinder doesn't actually say that it's a key to revel the population of this planet."

"What does it say?" Sam asked.

"Just that this was made by the people of Tubris and that those who can open it are worthy and will learn the truth."

"That's not very helpful." Jack said "So could the Asgard be involved in this? Should we look for another Asgard phone?"

"I don't know, sir. There's no trace of Asgard technology that I can find."

"What about Ancient technology?" Jack asked. "Any sign of that?"

"No, but it's more likely that we'll find that on 789."

"Indeed. Anubis uses Ancient technology, so if he is the one responsible for these people's demise or flight, we should be able to find something there." Teal'c said.

"Okay," Daniel said, turning to face his friends again. "Let's look for signs of the Ancients, of the Asgard, of the Goa'uld and of the indigenous population."

 

&&&&&

 

"Daniel, lunch," Sam called. On Earth it was dinner-time but on 552 it was only early afternoon and if Sam guessed right, Daniel hadn't eaten anything else than half the power bar she'd given him earlier.

"What? Already?"

Sam just smiled at him and walked over to where they'd set up camp. "Come on."

"Okay, so what have we got?" Jack asked a ways into their meal as they sat on the outskirts of the ruins.

Stirring his MRE, Daniel thought about his finds. "Well, I haven't really found anything useful. There's very little text remaining. We have to find the crevice for the cylinder. I've been thinking about that. The fact that it's intact leads me to think it's something the people of Tuberous took with them wherever they went, that it means something to them, that it's the clue to finding these people. The fact that it was left behind here has to mean something." Putting the heated food aside he opted for the obligatory crackers and ate those, thinking that if he could keep those down maybe he'd manage the stew as well. If he didn't he'd at least get some food in him. Feeling Jack's eyes on him, Daniel shrugged in response, picking up his MRE again. Like the power bar, the crackers had gone down okay, and the stew seemed to do the same.

"What do you mean?" Teal'c asked.

"I haven't figured that part out yet." Daniel took another mouthful of his stew and chewed on it slowly, happy it didn't threaten to come back up. Jack kept his gaze on Daniel but as he continued to eat Jack's attention diverted back to his own meal.

The rest of the meal was eaten in companionable silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts. When everyone else was finished, Jack got to his feet. "Let's go."

"Yes, sir," Sam rose as well, packing away her MRE wrappings and her scanners.

"How far, Carter?"

"The UAV estimated three clicks, sir. We can't go straight through the ruins because of the force field so we have to walk around them."

"Okay, so it's more like five clicks?" Jack asked. Sam nodded. "Daniel?" Jack said, looking over at Daniel who still was picking at the remains of his food. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess having that power bar earlier killed my appetite. Just let me pack my stuff and I'm good to go."

Jack frowned, checking his archaeologist over. Daniel looked okay enough. He looked like he'd had little sleep but that wasn't uncommon. Vowing to keep an eye out for his friend as they continued, Jack took point while the others filed in after him, Teal'c bringing up the rear. A Daniel that ate regularly was a rare thing, so that he'd had parts of a power bar earlier didn't surprise Jack.

Daniel gathered his tools and books and stuffed the books and papers back into his backpack, fastening the tool belt around his waist. Since this was more of an archaeological mission than a tactical one, Daniel, unlike Sam and Jack, who carried P90s and zats, and Teal'c who had his staff weapon and a zat, only had the Beretta strapped to his thigh. Glad that he wasn't carrying the three–kilogram semi-machine gun when his pack already felt so heavy, Daniel quickly joined the rest of his team, the cylinder and tablet both stored in his pack, ready to be taken out when needed.

As they walked Daniel started to lag, studying the ruins more thoroughly as they passed them. These ruins were interesting, but except for their peculiar roundness, they weren't anything he hadn't seen before. Why go to all the trouble to make this illusion? If what they thought was true and there really was a population living in hiding on this planet, where were they hiding?

Realising what he was doing, Daniel sped up and joined the others. They quickly reached the place where Balinsky had found the crevice. The cylinder was supposed to be placed inside a chamber in a corner of a building that had three of the four outer walls more or less completely intact. Entering the building Daniel looked around in surprise. This must have been a temple at one point. There were remnants of murals on the walls and in some places there also was a little writing. They hadn't discussed this when he'd talked to Balinsky through the MALP, but Daniel could see why the other archaeologist had been excited about in this place. The murals were strangely intact compared to the destruction of the rest of this place. It had to have been a city at some point as the circumference of the real ruins was quite large. However the deception was seamlessly done and it was difficult to tell from a distance how much of it actually was real. Taking out his camera Daniel set to work filming the murals, supplying the footage SG-13 had taken and translating aloud what little text he found as he went.

"It's a description of how they got here. These people are definitely the Tuberous people from 789." Daniel put the camera away, indicating a part of the wall close to the crevice. "This section talks about how they grew as a population in the ancient days and how a plague infested their crops and animals so they didn't have any food, forcing them to abandon this place." He turned to the others. "Look at the structure! It looks like the ruined buildings from the footage from 789. I was right all along. The people on 789 originated here, moved to 789, which was destroyed, and have fled back, probably making the illusion to prevent anyone from finding them again. There's one question though: Where are they now?"

"Yes, Daniel," Jack said, finally losing patience with his archaeologist, "why don't you put that thing into the slot there and see if we can find them?"

Eagerly nodding, Daniel took the cylinder out of the protective cloth he'd placed it in before leaving for 552 and gave it to Sam. "You do the honours," he said. "You helped figure this out just as much as I did."

"Oh, fer crying out loud, will you two just get to it?" Jack was pacing now. He'd been patient enough for one day, he thought. It felt wonderful having Daniel back amongst them; Jack admitted to himself that he'd been as patient as he had because he relished watching the other man work, seeing the brilliance of his mind unfold just like he had done countless times before he ascended. He'd missed Daniel a lot, and the joy of having him back amongst them was still strong now months after Daniel had rejoined SG-1 as a fully functioning member of the team again. Jack knew he wasn't the only one feeling sappy and being indulgent. He'd caught Teal'c staring fondly at their friend several times when he thought Daniel wasn't looking, and Carter had practically plastered herself at his side, wanting to be as big a part of his life again as before he ascended. Suddenly catching himself, Jack shook his head and turned his attention back towards the here and now again.

Looking at the placement for the cylinder Sam pondered which way it ought to go in. The cylinder itself was smooth on both top and bottom and there was nothing on the surface that hinted to how to place it. Going by the assumption of "right side up" she placed the cylinder with what Daniel had described as the beginning of the text covering it towards them into the wall. It fit perfectly.

Nothing happened.

"Try turning it around," Daniel suggested, somewhat disappointed. He'd hoped for something like one of those Asgard beams or transporters to appear, but all he could hear was the wind blowing and no bright, white light appeared to snatch him anywhere.

Sam turned the device.

Nothing.

Sam turned it again, upside down, this way, still nothing. Rotating it every which way she could think of, the device still fit into the slot, yet nothing happened. "We're missing something."

"Like what?" Daniel said, accepting the cylinder back from Sam. He'd been studying the walls while she attempted to figure out why the cylinder wouldn't reveal anything. Maybe something more than the cylinder was needed? "The story isn't finished," Daniel said. "It tells of a people who suffered a plague, fled and then what?"

"I don't know." Sam stepped back, looking at the crevice. "There's nothing here." Taking out her scanner she passed it along the crevice in the wall. "There's no trace of anything."

"Wait." Daniel came over to stand beside her. "Isn't that thing emitting some sort of EM pulse?"

"Yeah… So, you think we need an EM pulse for this to work just like we needed for the cylinder to open?"

"It's a thought." Daniel shrugged.

"But we don't have any computers here. I haven't had time to experiment with other sources to see if it would open but perhaps the scanner is enough?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Daniel gave back the cylinder and leaned against the wall beside the crevice. At the moment they were in the shade, but it was midday now and the desert sun was beating down on them mercilessly, making Daniel feel uncomfortably hot and his stomach was complaining again, draining his energy. Slouching against a wall, he watched with half-closed eyes as Sam worked.

"You okay?" Jack asked, watching with concern as Daniel slumped against the wall.

"Yeah, just hot." A headache was starting to form behind his eyes and he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"How's the back?" Jack asked.

"It's fine. I'll take some Tylenol, it ought to help," Daniel said, searching through his pack for the med kit.

Though he nodded in agreement, Jack didn't believe that was the only thing Daniel was suffering from but this wasn't the place or time to have a discussion about work habits and sleep. Later, though, Jack promised himself, he'd talk to Daniel about those things – again. Perhaps he'd forgotten how to better look after himself after he'd descended. Not all his memories were back, and he was easily distracted when there was work to be done. "Do that. If we can't figure this thing out we're going home anyway. You should get some rest. We're going to 789 in the morning. Drink some water."

"Yeah." Daniel unclasped his canteen and took a small sip, swallowing the Tylenol.

"Hey," Sam said. "I think this might be working." She'd put the cylinder back into the crevice, holding the scanner up beside it. The cylinder started to rotate. After rotating for a couple of cycles it stopped and a slow whine like the descending of rings could be heard but nothing happened. Instantly recognising the sound, they all started to look around for signs of rings or other Goa'uld transport methods within the building.

To everyone's disappointment, they quickly came up empty. There were was no outline of rings in the debris on the floor, no control panels on the walls, and nowhere from the rings to descend from as there was no roof in the building. Teal'c lifted his staff weapon and prodded the air, looking for an illusion of open air where there could be a roof, but found nothing. He fired his staff, but the energy went up into the air and dissipated, destroying nothing. While Teal'c was busy prodding air, Daniel moved his hands along the walls that were there, looking for hidden passageways or bricks that could be moved. He too quickly came up empty.

"Okay, kids," Jack said after they'd all searched the building and immediate area thoroughly. "I guess we safely can say there's nothing here. Either that cylinder is broken or there's something else wrong."

"I could bring a laptop and connect that to the cylinder," Sam said. "That might work."

"Yes," Jack agreed. "But Daniel here is about dead on his feet, and we are going to 789 tomorrow, so I'd say we call it a day. If 789 prove to be a bust as well, we can always bring a laptop and come back. We don't have unlimited time. Hammond gave us a couple of days to check this out, and since we're getting nowhere today, I'd say we try 789. Maybe they've left behind some technology?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said, putting away the scanner and handing the cylinder back to Daniel again.

"Hold on," Daniel said pausing as he was about to put the cylinder back. "Hand me that scanner, would you?"

Sam gave him the equipment. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try to open it."

"What for?"

"To see if taking out the scroll will make any difference. Perhaps there are some hidden sensors in the crevice that detects that the scroll is inside it?"

"I couldn't see anything and I searched it pretty thoroughly, but it wouldn't hurt to try. If it opens it means we've probably found the right frequency and won't need the computer," Sam said.

Holding the scanner in one hand and the cylinder in the other Daniel passed the scanner over the cylinder.

Nothing.

Giving it another couple of tries, Daniel shook his head and handed the scanner back. "It was worth the try."

"Yeah," Sam was just as disappointed as Daniel. It would be amazing if they could find an advanced civilization out there. So far it looked like they weren't going to have an easy time of it.

 

&&&&&

 

They wasted no time in getting back to the SGC. As they walked down the ramp, Hammond came to meet them in the Gateroom, eager to hear news. Daniel shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. We found that most of the ruins are an illusion but we weren't able to penetrate it or find the people who might hide there."

"I see."

"We haven't searched far outside the ruins, sir, but if most of those are an illusion, who knows what else might be hiding there." Sam said.

"Yes," Daniel said, "but the UAV wouldn't have been able to fly a survey if the illusion continued too far. I think the illusion is concentrated around the ruins and that there actually isn't anything else left on the planet."

"Very well, we'll debrief later. Report to the infirmary," Hammond said, trying to hide his disappointment. "You leave again at 0700 tomorrow morning for P3M-789."

"Yes, sir," Jack gave a sloppy salute, and preceded his team towards the infirmary.

 

&&&&&

 

Yawning, Daniel sat down on the infirmary bed, waiting for his turn for the mandatory post-mission exam. Jack had been right earlier, he was dead tired. Rubbing his aching stomach he scooted up to the head board, bent his knees, folded his arms on top of the knees and rested his head on his arms. If he was lucky he could catch some shut-eye while he waited. The infirmary was still bustling with activity, and judging from experience, it would take some time before it would be his turn, and he could get some real sleep.

 

&&&&&

 

"Dr. Jackson?" Someone was gently rubbing his arm, and he started awake. He must have fallen asleep.

"Hey, Janet," Rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses, he squinted at the doctor now standing patiently beside his bed.

"Looks like you were fast asleep there. Are you tired?"

Daniel nodded. "Uh huh."

"Well, you can get some sleep as soon as I'm done," Janet put a tray down on the rollaway table beside the bed and motioned for Daniel to uncurl himself.

"Thanks. What time is it?" Daniel tried to hide a wince as he straightened himself out, putting his legs over the side of the bed and sitting to face Janet.

"It's just after nine. How's your stomach now?"

Daniel shrugged. "I'm a bit queasy and achy," he admitted. "But I took some Tylenol earlier and that's had some effect."

Janet sighed. "I probably shouldn't have let you go earlier. Strip to your waist, please. I want to see what's going on."

Sighing heavily, Daniel did as he was told. He just wanted to curl up in bed. The headache that had started on the planet was getting worse, his body ached all over and he felt cold from the refrigerated air of the infirmary, the heat of the planet they'd just returned from having left his body.

Ignoring Daniel's protest, Janet performed the standard post-mission exam without further comment then motioned for him to lie down on his back.

It felt good lying down, and Daniel closed his eyes while Janet listened to his heart. "Your pulse is a little fast. Are you in pain?"

"I'm fine." Daniel answered without further thought.

"Daniel." Janet was starting to lose patience. Like Daniel, she too wanted to go home and get some sleep. It had been an extremely busy day, and Janet had no tolerance for Daniel's antics now.

"It's just an ache. It's nothing that I can't handle."

"Yet you came to me with it earlier today," Janet reminded him.

"I know," Daniel sighed feeling too tired to argue, but not tired enough to not try.

"Where does it hurt?" Janet asked kindly, knowing her patient too well to be fooled by the "I'm fine"-routine. It was a broken record that Daniel had played since they first met. He apparently hadn't learned when to stop playing it, so she relied on her instincts and finds to let Daniel's body tell her how he was feeling. At the moment he was unconsciously rubbing at the right side of his abdomen, which was where he'd said he'd hurt earlier, and he was a tad too warm and he was on the brink of falling asleep. Slight fever, belly ache and tiredness. The tiredness could be from the slight fever, or from lack of sleep. The slightly elevated temperature could be anything, as could the stomach ache. But since it'd obviously been going on for a day Janet wasn't all that keen on letting Daniel go without a more thorough exam than what she'd performed earlier.

Gently palpating his stomach, Janet watched Daniel's face for any signs of distress, but he didn't give anything away until:

"Ow," Daniel pushed her hand away, instinctively turning onto his side to prevent further examination. Janet walked around the bed to face him and pushed him back onto his back, continuing the examination when Daniel didn't appear to be in severe pain; his reaction mostly due to surprise and sleepiness.

"How long have you had this pain?" Janet asked again, remembering what Daniel had told her earlier but wanting a response from him anyway.

"Not long; since yesterday."

"Okay. I talked to Warner earlier and he mentioned you'd been in last night with back pain. Did your stomach ache develop before or after the pain in your back?"

"After," Daniel said, sitting up and putting his clothes back on.

Janet asked him a few more questions then wrote something in his chart before letting Daniel sit up on the bed. "Hey, I'm not done yet," she protested as he reached for his clothes and was about to jump down. "I don't see anything immediately wrong with your stomach but something is going on with you. I'll do some more blood work, including a culture and urine sample since your temp is a little elevated. I'm not taking any chances, however, so I'm not releasing you just yet." Daniel let go of his clothes and sat back down on the bed with a sigh. He was too tired to argue. All he really wanted was to lie down and sleep for ten hours straight. And get warm, he thought, shivering a little.

"Doc, what's going on?" Jack said, coming to stand beside Daniel's bed, finished with his own exam, frowning at his friend's slumped posture.

"Daniel's got a stomach ache. It could be anything so I'm having some more blood work done, and I'm keeping him overnight to be on the safe side."

"Daniel?" Jack turned to his friend, looking at him intently. "Why didn't you say something?" Jack's finely tuned Daniel radar didn't beep frantically in warning so he figured Daniel actually was fine, mostly, but Jack still thought Daniel looked tired and a little feverish.

"It's just an ache, Jack. I'm not in excruciating pain or anything."

"Not now," Janet said. "But you were last night."

"Daniel!" Jack commanded. "What's going on?"

Daniel explained about the cramps. When he was done Jack looked at Daniel, not really surprised he'd not told him. Still, Jack could always hope for improvement in that department "You should have told me."

"I'm sorry, I guess I should have." Daniel looked at Jack, feeling both defeated and sick. Sensing Jack wasn't finished with him yet but not knowing what else to say, he looked at Jack, as if he'd know. "Jack?"

Jack knew exactly what Daniel was thinking and held up a finger to stall the protest he knew was just seconds away. "I know this mission is your baby, Daniel, but you know the rules. If the doc deems you fit for duty and springs you in the morning, you're not scrubbed from the mission."

"However," Janet added, smiling at both Jack and Daniel's surprised faces. "I have to wait for the blood result and the ultrasound. So Colonel, if you'd excuse us, I have a few more tests to run."

"Okay, but I'll be back later."

"Thanks," Daniel said, watching Jack retreat as Janet got the ultrasound ready. He shivered as the ultrasound gel came in contact with his skin. Janet was watching the screen and apparently hadn't noticed. "Find anything?" Daniel asked when she'd been at it for a while.

"Nothing too specific," Janet put the probe away and handed Daniel a cloth to wipe the gel away with. "Your bowels are fine, but you have some small gallstones. They're the likely cause of the pain you've been having. Gallstones might also manifest as back pain so unless you start having other symptoms or start to feel worse I think we've found the culprit. Warner did an ultrasound of your kidneys, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he did. He didn't find anything."

Rolling away the machine Janet motioned for Daniel to sit up. "Now you can get dressed," she smiled and handed Daniel a set of scrubs. "In these." Daniel sighed and reached for the soft cotton clothes. "Usually gallstones don't pass by themselves, so if the pain doesn't go away, we'll do another ultrasound to see if they're stuck or growing."

"If they grow, then what do you do?"

"We blow them up," Janet said.

Daniel's eyebrows rose to his hairline in surprise and he put a protective hand over his stomach. "Um…"

"Don't worry," Janet laughed. "If it comes to that, you'll be fine. It's a minor procedure."

"Okay," Daniel smiled tentatively trying not to think about the potential of someone blowing his guts to pieces. "Thanks, Janet."

"One more thing, Daniel," Janet said. "You have a low grade fever, but I think that's mostly due to exhaustion, but the blood work will say for sure. Go brush your teeth. I'll have a bed ready for you when you get back." She handed him a small toiletry set and a sample jar for urine. "And make sure you fill that up too," Janet pointed to the small container.

"Yeah, I will. Thanks."

As Daniel got back from the bathroom, he'd barely handed his sample off to a nurse before an orderly placed a bed in the corner of the crowded room. "All yours Doc J," she said cheerfully before disappearing.

Nodding his reluctant thanks at having to stay in the infirmary overnight, Daniel climbed into the bed. He had barely pulled the curtains shut and the covers up before he was fast asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

PART FIVE

 

Daniel fumbled for what he was sure was the insistent ringing of the bedside phone but instead of wrapping themselves around the handset his fingers came in contact with the bedside lamp and the call button, which he pressed in his sleep-state without thinking it was the off-button on the phone or the light-switch. A moment later a nurse appeared and he blinked up at her, too sleepy to understand why she was there. "'lo?"

"You awake Dr. Jackson?" the nurse asked, watching in amusement as Daniel's sleep-tousled head appeared from beneath the blankets. It was clear he didn't know where he was or what had happened.

"I am now," Daniel cleared his throat turning his head and squinting at the clock on the monitor beside him, which showed that it was 5:45 in the morning. Rubbing his hands through his hair, Daniel yawned and closed his eyes again.

"Did you want something?" The nurse asked.

"Nah," Daniel said burrowing his head in the pillow. "Thought I heard the phone, forgot where I was. Sorry."

"You did hear the phone," the nurse explained. "It was Dr. Fraiser. She wants to talk to you." When Daniel didn't immediately respond, the nurse said, "She thought she'd give you a wake up call since you're shipping out so early."

"'kay." Daniel was still not completely awake, but he sat up, squinting at the bedside light.

"Ah, here's Dr. Fraiser now," the nurse said as Janet could be heard approaching.

"Morning Daniel, how are you feeling?" Janet asked when Daniel had had some time to wake up a little more and she'd read through his chart.

"Fine," Daniel said without hesitation. It was true. Once again he felt just fine. "A little tired still, but just fine."

"No stomach ache or back ache?"

"Nope, nothing."

"Your labs are fine," Janet said, looking Daniel over. He looked and sounded like someone just woken up from a deep sleep, his voice slow and somewhat slurred, but he appeared otherwise fine. "Did you sleep all right?"

"Yeah, slept like a log till the phone woke me."

"Good. I just wanted to let you know that your blood work came through. You're good to go." Turning to the nurse she said. "Take his vitals, and I'll be back in a moment to do a last exam. If you continue to feel fine, we'll do an ultrasound in a few days to see how the stones are progressing. If you start to feel pain or sickness again, I want you back here on the double."

Daniel rubbed his eyes, nodding. "Thanks, Janet."

"You're welcome," Janet smiled.

Daniel slid back down the bed allowing the nurse to do her exam, curling up on his side again. He was just about to fall asleep again when Janet returned.

A quick exam, shower and shave later, he was in his office getting his things together for their trip to P3M-789. Munching on an apple he'd got when he'd stopped by the commissary for coffee, Daniel headed for the gear-up room.

"Morning," he greeted as he entered. Sam was already there, getting clips for her P90.

Handing Daniel a Beretta and some ammo, she asked, "Morning, Daniel. I heard Janet kept you after class yesterday. You feeling okay?"

"Yeah, she just cleared me."

"Great," Sam smiled. "I can't wait to see what we find on 789."

 

&&&&&

 

"This Gate was buried," Daniel said, indicating the cluster of debris that lay around the gate. "The people who unburied it had to work quickly."

"How do you know that?" Sam asked.

"Look at all this rubble. They didn't have time to clean up before they left."

"Ah."

The Gate on 789 had spit them out in the middle of what was a large hall of some kind. It appeared to have had large glass panes for walls as the only thing left was the concrete structure and support beams. Here and there glass fragments could be seen strewn about the ground and there were intermittent glass panes still left, although none of them intact. Evidence of destruction caused by energy based weapons was everywhere.

The city was vast, but like the building that held the Stargate, it was thoroughly destroyed, bearing the trademark of Goa'uld persistence and thoroughness when destruction was concerned: Nothing worth salvaging was left behind. It was nothing like the ruins on 552. The building structure was bigger, more elaborate, and there was far more of it. Most of the structures looked like round skyscrapers that had been blown to pieces by energy weapons. These people had clearly been a big civilization at one point. Sam had said it was impossible to guess at how large since nothing remained intact but this city alone had clearly housed tens of thousands of people, perhaps even more.

They'd gated through and done an initial recon of the immediate vicinity without finding anything particularly interesting. And now Daniel had once again spent over an hour sitting at the base of a structure covered in writing. Jack was glad Janet had cleared Daniel, but he still kept his gaze on his friend; so far, though, it seemed like Daniel was doing just fine. He looked healthy and eager to continue working. But all this translating was getting old, Jack mused, watching his team look about the destroyed city before them. Daniel had found the pillar just as they were about to call it a day and head home with no luck in finding the hiding civilization. Claiming it was an interesting text, he'd promptly sat down to start translating it. The thing he held up for Teal'c to study had been buried in the rubble beside the pillar.

"Teal'c, have you seen anything like this before?" Daniel asked, indicating a round, metal object. It was covered in small protruding spikes and had clearly once been a part of something larger as there was something that looked like parts of a handle on it.

"Indeed. This is Goa'uld technology."

"What is it?" Sam asked, taking the thing from Daniel. As Daniel translated she and Teal'c had been sorting through the rubble in the room without finding anything worth a second glance.

"It is a torture device," Teal'c answered solemnly. "It has been used by Jaffa on uncooperative prisoners for centuries. Aphophis did not use it, but several other Goa'uld did, including Baal. It is attached to the base of the neck and twisted."

"Whoa! I think that's enough," Jack interrupted. "We don't need the gory details. Carter, take that thing with you. We don't want it lying around."

"Yes, sir," Sam packed the offending object away.

"Well, Baal wasn't the only one to use it," Daniel said. "This writing is the same as on the tablet and the cylinder and I think the tablet might have been part of this pillar or some of the other pillars in this room. From what I can tell from these writings, this is the Hall of Justice. It looks like not all of the Tuberous managed to flee. Anubis brought his prisoners here before he sent them through the Stargate to who knows where, probably one of his many other planets. It says here that those who resisted, would be subjected to the," Daniel stopped translating and motioned Teal'c to come over. "Can you translate that?"

"Indeed, it translates into neck-squeeze."

"Neck-squeeze?" Jack asked.

"It is what the text says," Teal'c answered unperturbed.

"From what I can translate, it turns your brain into mush without killing the prisoner," Daniel continued, ignoring them both, shrugging in disgust and feeling sorry for the poor victims of the torture device. There really was no end to the evil Anubis could inflict…

Teal'c nodded. "DanielJackson is correct. The device renders one brain-dead."

"Ouch," Jack commented. "So, unless they did as Anubis said they would turn into vegetables."

"Yes, but Anubis would be able to do something about that, bending their minds to his will. The slaves would be like drones, alive but without life; a fate worse than death." Daniel winced as he rose to his feet, the crossed-legged position was torture on his back, and the ache in his stomach flared as he got to his feet, but quickly calmed down, disappearing almost before it had registered with him.

"So, it's likely to assume that if we find the Tuberous people that they'd be brain-dead?" Jack quipped.

"I don't think so, sir. How then would they be able to escape?"

"Sam's right, Jack; I don't think we'll find a bunch of brain-dead people once we do find them either. They're too advanced. They've managed to evade Anubis and create elaborate deceptions to keep people off their track."

"Okay, let's go check out more of this place before we jump to any conclusions," Jack motioned towards the exit.

"Jack, there's rings here," Daniel said after they'd looked around for a little while, stopping suddenly just before the hall's exit. "I don't think they work though, the control panel's busted." Daniel pointed towards the wall close to the rings and the remnants of what evidently once had been the rings' control panel.

"It's possible we could make them work without the control panel, sir," Sam said.

"Yeah, but let's keep a hold on that for now. We haven't finished searching this place yet." Not that we ever will. Jack moved out of the large oval-shaped hall and into a corridor that they hadn't ventured into when they'd done the cursory recon earlier. "Let's find something that actually works."

As they exited the Hall of Justice, Daniel looked around for more of the text, but there wasn't any. Here and there the walls were full of holes and the ground they walked on was a veritable tangle of debris. Stumbling in the winding, dark hallway they were walking through, Daniel pulled out his flashlight and shone it on the surrounding walls. The farther they walked the narrower the hallway seemed to become. Getting a sense of claustrophobia, Daniel's breathing sped up and he felt the first signs of panic. Dust filled the air and made the beam from their flashlights murky and he sneezed. Was it getting harder to breathe? As his lungs struggled to get enough air, the ache in his stomach caught him by surprise and doubling over in the dimness of the tunnel he breathed heavily, feeling dizzy and nauseous as he didn't get enough air into his lungs. God, that hurt, Daniel thought, wishing for some pain-killers. He didn't have any and decided to take some Tylenol as soon as they got out of this wretched place if the pain kept up.

"Sir, I can't breathe," Sam said from in front of Daniel. "I think we should get out of here."

"Indeed, the air is most unpleasant," Teal'c added, coughing a little to clear his lungs.

"Okay, kids, turn around," Jack ordered. As he turned he stumbled into Daniel who still was bent over double. "Daniel! Let's move." Jack took Daniel by the arm and hauled him upright. "We've got to get out of here."

As soon as they were out in the Hall of Justice again, Daniel felt much better and breathed a sigh of relief, the pain in his stomach becoming less insistent now that it wasn't struggling to breathe as well.

"You okay?" Jack asked, watching as Daniel gingerly rose to his full height.

"Yeah, fine. I just got a bit dizzy and stumbled."

Jack nodded. "I think someone closed off that path with a staff blast to the ceiling at one point."

"Staff weapons give off carbon dioxide in small quarters. I think that's why we weren't able to breathe. Let's try this way," Sam suggested, finding an opening at the back of the room, behind the Stargate.

The room they entered wasn't very large, but it clearly had been a room full of technology at one point or other as the remaining structures were of Ancient design, further proving that Anubis was the likely culprit behind this planet's destruction.

"Hello," Jack drawled, looking around, his gun raised. "Carter, is there anything here we can use?"

"I don't know, sir. It all looks pretty damaged to me," Sam was on her hands and knees figuring out how to open the control panel on one of the machines that filled the room.

"Okay, well see what you can find."

"Yes, sir."

As she worked, Daniel was studying some of the control panels to see if he could understand any of the writing on them. The interfaces appeared like the typical mix of archaic Goa'uld and Ancient Anubis used. "There are some obscure writings here," he commented. "This definitely looks like something that belonged to Anubis."

"Yeah? Find anything interesting?" Jack asked.

"No, not really," Daniel said. "The dialect is too obscure. I'd need to go back to Earth to find some references if I am to translate this. Unless," he looked at Teal'c, "you can translate it?"

"I cannot," Teal'c said, bowing his head. "I have never seen a dialect as obscure as this. I am sorry."

"This machinery is portable, sir," Sam said, rolling one piece of destroyed equipment forward. "It looks like Anubis didn't care much about his equipment after he destroyed this place. Sir, I think Anubis took these people by complete surprise, setting up this lab very quickly and starting to capture people immediately after he got here.

"That makes sense," Daniel said, pulling at the thing he was standing by to see if it would move. It did, falling into pieces and sizzling with energy before ending its life in a splutter of sparks. "Ooops." Daniel smiled sheepishly. "Sam's right though. If they were aware of his approach they probably would have started to flee earlier than they did. They also had to unbury the gate in their flight, probably killing some Jaffa in the process."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed. "Anubis would guard the Stargate heavily. It is likely to assume it took the Tuberous some time to flee."

"So," Jack said. "Those who tried to escape were captured, but eventually someone managed to open the Gate and the remaining people fled through."

"I think there was an uprising," Daniel said. "It's the only way they would have been able to manage it. They'd fled before and would be prepared for another attack. If they didn't flee through the Gate I'm sure they have ships."

"We've seen no signs of ship-building facilities or anything else that would indicate they were able of space travel," Sam said.

"No, but that doesn't mean they didn't have it. From what we've seen so far their pretty advanced technologically, probably more so than us," Daniel said.

Frustrated at the lack of evidence to back up their theories, Daniel tiredly rubbed a hand over his face and sat down at a piece of rubble. "Jack, I think we have to look at this some other way! So far, everything we've tried has been a bust. There's got to be another way to get in contact with these people if we can't find something that'll make the cylinder work."

"What are you suggesting?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. Just," Daniel paused to think it all over one more time. "There has to be another way."

"Could you be less specific," Jack asked sarcastically, wanting an end to this searching just as much as Daniel did. Plus it looked like Daniel was in pain. He watched as Daniel rooted in his pack for the blister pack of Tylenol and his water bottle.

"Stomach bothering you?" he asked.

"A little," Daniel admitted tersely, not wanting to show his discomfort to his friends.

"Need to go back?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm starting to get a headache though." Daniel waved the Tylenol in Jack's face. "Thought I'd kill it before it got too bothersome."

"Good call. I hope we do find another way, Daniel, because unless we find something here today, we're done," Jack said, rubbing Daniel's arm comfortingly as he walked by on his way out into the other room, knowing how much his friend wanted to find and help the people. Jack was also keenly aware of Daniel having stayed the night in the infirmary, and even if he'd been it this morning he now apparently wasn't completely pain-free. Still, they weren't in any danger here as far as Jack could see, so he didn't force the issue of Daniel going home. Janet had cleared him, and Jack trusted her.

As the others worked to figure out the machinery, Jack sauntered back into the Hall of Justice, looking around a little more thoroughly. The room was littered with debris and the going was treacherous, which also meant that if someone wanted to hide here and watch them, they could. The room was large enough to comfortably seat at least a hundred people. Something was nagging at him though, wanting his attention, aside from the fact that Daniel wasn't feeling one hundred percent. He'd watched as his friend had rubbed his forehead or stomach when he'd worked, but the Tylenol looked like it was helping and Jack let the issue go. Daniel was under enough pressure as it was to figure this out, and he knew what Jack thought about him staying off-world if he wasn't well. The pressure was all his own of course; Daniel was the one who pressured himself on this. Sure, Jack and everyone else would be thrilled if they found another advanced civilization, but Jack had the feeling that Daniel felt he had to find them. But, there was something else uncanny about this place that put Jack on high alert despite his apparent relaxed state. Going back to the others, Jack ordered them all to pack it up and get out of there.

"Why," Daniel asked, poking his head out from where he'd been sitting between two machines, studying them both at the same time, comparing the writing to the tablet he held in his hand.

"There's something wrong with this place. Like someone is watching us. I want us out of here, now."

"As I said this place was destroyed centuries ago. There's no one," turning abruptly at a slight sound behind them, Daniel added, "here."

"There are now," Jack said raising his gun again, aiming at the being standing at the entrance to the room, quickly being joined by the rest of his team, weapons raised.


	6. Chapter 6

PART SIX

 

The person standing before them was small and thin like an Asgard, yet distinctly human. It was a man with long, curly, light brown hair and black eyes. He appeared to be around 40 years old by Earth standards. He was wearing something that looked like a combination of the Abydonian robes Daniel had longed for yesterday and the battle armour of the Jaffa. The combination looked impossibly unpractical. In his hands he held a staff weapon. It was armed and poised towards them.

"Hello," Daniel said, lowering his gun and walking towards the being. "We mean you no harm."

"No?," the man said, rising his weapon further his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Daniel looked at him incomprehensibly. "We're peaceful explorers. We've come here to learn about this planet and the people who once lived here. We don't want to hurt you."

"Yet you are armed and ally yourself with a Jaffa."

"It is true," Teal'c said. "I am allied with these, the Tau'ri. But it is also true that we mean no harm. We're carrying weapons only to protect ourselves"

"Anubis sent you, I am sure of it!" The guy said, still pointing the staff at Daniel, now and again waving it between him and Teal'c. Every few seconds he threw a glance over his shoulder out into the Hall of Justice as if someone was watching him or he expected someone else to pay him an unannounced visit.

"Anubis? Why would he send us?" Jack asked. "That's ridiculous. We're as much Anubis' enemy as anyone."

"How can I be sure of that?" the man asked, his gaze flitting from one to the other. "I have never encountered your kind before and you bring a Jaffa. He is clothed like you but he is still Jaffa."

"Take our word for it and trust us?" Daniel put on his most sincere face, smiling.

The man though for a moment, looking between SG-1 and the empty room behind him several times before crumbling nervously, shutting off the staff and putting it to the ground, stuttering. "Forgive me, I am Jama. I have been here all by myself for so long. I am not used to company. I was sure Anubis had sent you."

"Hey, it's okay," Daniel reached out to Jama with one hand, holstering his weapon with the other. "Hello, Jama," Daniel said kindly. "I'm Dr. Daniel Jackson. This is Teal'c, Major Carter and Colonel O'Neill."

"Why are you here by yourself?" Jack asked.

"I am an historian. I have been searching these ruins for signs of my people for many years now. I have not found much. Everything's destroyed."

"Why are you still here if you couldn't find anything?"

"I am much determined," Jama answered, smiling a little to himself as if he'd just told a joke only he understood.

"We've come to understand this world was deserted many years ago, after it was destroyed by Anubis," Daniel said, keeping his voice low and slow as if talking to a frightened child, leading the man over to a pile of debris that looked steady enough to serve as a chair. "We didn't think there was anyone left."

"There wasn't." Jama sighed. "The truth is that although I originally am a historian I was an outlaw, a criminal. I came back here when my people didn't want me around any more."

"What did you do?" Jack asked, not having any of the confused and lonely acting Jama clearly was putting on for their benefit.

"He took my daughter!" Jama cried. "We were the only ones left in our village after the plague destroyed my wife and two sons."

"What plague? Who took her?"

"Anubis. She would serve as a slave in his court. She was to be trained to be a temple priestess. She was only seventy years old."

"Seventy, you say? And that's young for your people?" Jack asked, eyebrow raised in astonishment. Teal'c was 104, Bra'tac around 140, but that a 70 year old was considered a child? That was amazing.

"So this destruction is a relatively recent event the way you reckon time?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," Jama said. "I am 720, and my wife was 400 when she died."

"You don't look a day over 100," Jack said, earning him a head-shake from Jama and a stern frown from Daniel, who shook his head minutely. Jack sighed. Although this kind of initial getting-to-know-each-other talk could be boring, it was crucial and often very informative. It was in the first few minutes of contact with another world that the whole ground for further relations often was laid. It was also what Daniel did best in the field, and Jack knew that as well. Listening as Daniel talked to Jama, he fiddled with the strap to his watch, pretending that he wasn't paying attention, yet all his senses were on high alert.

"It's like the Nox," Daniel commented, turning away from Jama for a moment to look at his team. "They too get very old and but never looked it. Opher said he was 432 years old." He turned back to Jama. "How do you keep looking so young?"

Jama shook his head. "I cannot say."

"I'm sorry about your family," Sam said. The colonel could steer them all off track with his jokes, but Daniel was just as bad with his never-ending curiosity. She'd better get them back on track. There would be time to answer other, less pressing questions later. "Please tell us what happened?"

"There was this plague on our world. Animals died, people got sick, crops failed. There was nothing we could do. Then Anubis came and enslaved our people. We tried to destroy him but he prevailed. And so my people fled here. That was before my time. Later the plague came and many people and animals died, the crops again failing."

"Including your wife and children?" Daniel said. Jama nodded. "Jack, Jama's story is exactly like the writing on the scroll. It too talks about a plague, remember?"

"You found a scroll?" Jama asked. "May I see it?" Daniel rose to fetch his pack.

"I'm not so sure," Jack said, motioning for Daniel to sit back. "How can we trust you? You say you're all alone and that your family is dead. Yet you're armed with a staff weapon and carry armour like a Jaffa. You clearly know of the Goa'uld and have been here for some time. Also, since you recognised Teal'c you clearly know about Apophis."

"He's a historian, Jack. He's probably studied texts or artifacts he's found." Daniel sat down again, his pack between his feet, ready to be opened once he got the go ahead from Jack.

"Yes, Dr. Jackson is right. I learned of Apophis when I heard of his demise by the technical bugs."

"Replicators," Sam explained.

"Yes, those," Jama agreed.

"Fair enough," Jack said. "One more thing, though: You said you were an outlaw, a criminal? What did you do that made your people shun you?"

Jama bowed his head. "I figured out something about our past that the leaders didn't want the world to know. When I told them they got very angry and wouldn't let me stay to continue my work."

"What did you find?" Daniel asked, thinking it had to do with Jama's age, something like the natural medicine the Nox used or their ability to hide or heal people. Perhaps the Tuberous and the Nox were somehow related?

"We possess a gene that defies aging and that expands our brain capacity with age, meaning that the older we get the more we can do."

"Everyone gets wiser the older they get," Sam said.

"That is true. But we also get special abilities as our age progress. However, there are strict regulations in place to prevent someone harming each other with these abilities. We can do things. Watch," Jama looked at piece of rubble a little distance from where they sat and it disintegrated into thin air, almost like if it'd been zatted away.

"Whoa!" Jack was on his feet, gun raised and pointing at Jama. "You did that?"

"Yes."

"Where'd it go?" Sam asked. "How can you do that?"

"I don't understand," Jama looked confused from one to the other, not understanding what was so special about being able to disintegrate matter.

"The rubble you just removed, where is it?" Daniel asked.

"It is gone."

"Just… gone?" Jack sat down again, keeping the gun in his lap, not even giving up the pretence of being relaxed.

"Yes, destroyed. It is a simple thing to do."

"You don't say. And how can we know you won't do the same to us?" Jack did still not trust the guy.

"Trust me?" Jama repeated Daniel's earlier words. That earned him first a scowl then a reluctant nod from Daniel and a disapproving frown from Teal'c.

"Is there anything else you can do?" Jack asked.

"Indeed. Let me show you." Jama stood and indicated for SG-1 to do the same. A second later they were on the other side of the room.

"A little warning would be nice!" Jack protested as he took in the new surroundings.

"He is right, Jama," Daniel said. "You can't go teleporting people around without warning them."

"My apologies," Jama said, bowing his head, sounding not at all very contrite. He was playing with them, Daniel realised, frowning disapprovingly at Jama.

"I'd like to know more about how you can do the things you do," Sam said.

"As I said, it is a gene we've possess since ancient times. I do not know the specifics behind how we are able to do what we do. We are only allowed to use our powers under certain circumstances. It's not like I can transport things around whenever I want to. We may only use these abilities under supervision of others when we're working for the benefit of all our people. If everyone transported whatever or whomever they needed where they needed them all the time it would be chaos."

"That makes sense. Maybe if we find more of your people," Sam said, "we'll find someone who can explain it."

"I don't know," Jama said. "Many of the wisest are long since dead. Many were taken by the first plague. It has taken time to rebuild our society and reach a level of wisdom and competence close to what we once had in the ancient times. Much of our knowledge is gone." He waved his arm, indicating the destroyed buildings. "My people are gone."

"Okay," Daniel turned around to look at the room from where they stood now. "Jama, do you know if there's any advanced technology here that actually works, aside from your abilities?"

"I do not. It has all been destroyed."

"We found some rings. Do you know where they lead?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. There is an underground network of tunnels that lead to the torture chambers. I would not want to go there if I was you."

"Why not?" Jack asked impatiently. "And don't say you don't know or teleport us there!"

"Jack?" Daniel touched his arm to get his attention, drawing him a little away from the other so they could talk privately. "What are you doing?"

"This guy has been no help so far, and we're about to become overdue for our check-in. I want to know if he can help us or not," Jack said in an irritated whisper.

"I wouldn't transport your there without your express permission," Jama said when he had all of SG-1's attention again. "The tunnels have been voided of all air. It is not breathable down there. You should not attempt to use the rings."

"The cylinder, Jack," Daniel said. "Maybe he knows anything about that, or even how to make it work?"

"Okay, fine," Jack said. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to show him. You do that while I call home. Carter, stay with Daniel and Jama, Teal'c you're with me." Jack started to move towards the DHD, Teal'c following.

Sitting down by his pack Daniel opened it and showed the cylinder to Jama. "It interfaces with a device we found on another planet but we can't get it to work. Seeing as the writing is the same as on this planet, we thought you might know what it is."

Taking the cylinder in his hands Jama turned it around a few times, studying the inscriptions. "It is an ancient device."

"Do you know why the writing on the surface is so small?" Daniel asked. "I had to use magnification equipment to be able to read it."

Jama shook his head. "Perhaps it was not meant to be read? I cannot say."

"Can you read it?" Daniel asked.

"Yes."

"You said you know what it is," Daniel prodded.

"Indeed. I do indeed know of its existence. You have found the Circulus! It is legendary. However, the power source appears depleted."

Watching in amazement as Jama held the cylinder in his hands, Sam and Daniel could clearly see how it reacted to his presence. "It's almost as if he's got the something equivalent of the ATA gene," Sam whispered to Daniel. "But I think it's more of a side-affect of what Anubis did to his people than a true Ancient gene."

The cylinder started to hum and slightly glow. "It is fully functional again now," Jama said. In a way much reminiscent of Daniel's eagerness when he found an object to study Muttering under his breath, Jama started to talk to himself about what a fantastic find the Circulus was.

"You clearly know what you are talking about," Daniel said. "What can you tell me about the text on the surface?"

"It is an old dialect," Jama handed it back to Daniel. "This writing is only found on our oldest artifacts. This is an important find." He opened it without any need of further equipment and took the scroll out, starting to read. "The Circulus has been lost for so long," he said.

"I can't believe it," Sam said, astonished, joining in Daniel and Jama's conversation. "I couldn't find any power source but it reacted with the EMF you're emitting because of that gene. It must be on the same frequency as our computers. Amazing."

"Carter?" Jack asked, turning back and looking at his 2IC as he and Teal'c came back from talking to the SGC.

"Jama got the cylinder to work again."

"Really," Jack said sceptically. "Lemme see."

"Is that wise?" Teal'c asked.

"It's not a weapon," Daniel protested.

"You don't know that," Jack argued.

Jama was about to hand it over, but Daniel stopped him, indicating that he wanted to look at it himself first. Some of the writing glowed more strongly than the rest of the device. "Jama, what's this?" He indicated the glowing symbols.

"It's the combination key."

"Yes of course. I see it now," Daniel said. "It's the symbols that make up the name of Tamram, the scientist who made the scroll." Handing the device to Jack, Daniel turned to Jama. "Do you know of this Tamram?"

"Yes, he is a famous scientist from our past."

"I don't suppose he's alive anymore?" Daniel asked hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no; he was 2,375 years when he died, but he died a long time ago."

"That's too bad," Daniel said. "Could he move things around, or did he have some other gift?"

"He did. I have the ability to transport things, but he had the ability to build things by just thinking about them."

"How's that even possible?" Jack asked suspiciously.

"Remember Reece?" Daniel said.

"Yeah, but she didn't make those replicators out of nothing. She used scissors."

"So," Daniel shrugged. "Maybe Tamram didn't make this Circulus out of nothing, but rather was ingenious enough to figure it out all on his own? Sort of like Einstein."

"He's got a point, sir." Sam said.

"Do you know where your people are now?" Teal'c asked, diverting Jama's attention to the matter at hand when Jama's incomprehension made it very clear he had no idea what Jack and Daniel were talking about, Einstein comment not withstanding.

"I do not, but perhaps they have made ships. There was talk of that before Anubis came and my people fled."

"What do you mean they fled? Didn't you go with them?" Jack asked.

"I did, but I was sent back here."

"Why?"

"Like I said earlier, they didn't want me around any more."

"Sir, we need to find these people," Sam said. "I'd like to figure out how that cylinder works, for one thing. This technology is just astonishing."

"And I want to know more about how their abilities work," Daniel said, taking the Circulus back from Jack and putting it in his pack.

Jama protested. "Give that to me. It is an artifact from my past."

"Yes," Daniel said, "but we want to find the rest of your people first. This doesn't belong to you but to your people. When we find them, you can get it back."

"Is that wise, DanielJackson?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel shrugged. "I don't know. But I don't think Jama should have it here. It doesn't belong on this planet."

"What do you mean?" Jama asked.

"We found this on Tubris. There's a place for it there. Until we find your people I'm holding onto this."

"Then, may I come with you?" Jama asked. "These people are my people and things may have changed since the last time I was there. They may take more kindly to my presence now."

"Yes, about that. What did you actually do?" Jack asked, "Truly?"

"I used my skills to gain access to some of the technology Anubis had left us. What I didn't know was that the device I activated had a subspace link connected to it and it sent a message to Anubis, which forced my people to flee once again."

"What kind of device?" Jack asked cautiously.

"I'll show you."

"Ah! No transporting!" Jack said before Jama could continue. "Walk us there."

"I was intending to. It is very close," Jama said sourly.

"Fine, let's go."

Jama led them out of the Hall of Justice and into one of the other buildings. It was much the same as the Hall of Justice; a large room littered with debris and damaged machinery and equipment.

"This used to be where we controlled the frequency jammers that prevented any ship in orbit to get a proper reading of what was on this planet. I got tired of us living in hiding and wanted to find someone that could help us and possibly also find my daughter again." Jama indicated a destroyed piece of machinery that could have been anything. "I made some adjustments to the frequency jammers."

"You didn't know it would send a subspace distress call to Anubis?"

"I knew it would send a signal out that would alert people that we were here, that would penetrate our jammers, but not disable them. Those with advanced enough ships would be able to pick it up and hopefully come to our aid. At least that is what I wanted it to do."

"So all you really wanted to do was help?" Daniel asked.

"Yes," Jama hung his head.

"Daniel, he knew the thing would send out that signal. He did it on purpose," Jack protested.

"He was desperate, Jack. What lengths wouldn't you go to if your worst enemy took your family?"

"Pretty far," Jack answered, looking at Daniel with stern eyes, thinking about Charlie and his team. Don't go there.

Daniel nodded, giving Jack a comforting squeeze on the shoulder, thinking about his own lost family. "Yeah, I know." I won't.

"Still, it doesn't excuse the fact that he basically called Anubis."

"I was young I didn't know what I was doing. It took a while before Anubis came," Jama explained. "But the help I hoped for never came and I forgot about the whole thing until Anubis showed up and started destroying us."

"Wouldn't someone else recognise what you'd done and turn the device off?" Sam asked.

"Yes, and they tried. However, it wasn't possible to undo unless they were to take the frequency jammers completely down. We are too afraid of Anubis to do that. Once we'd got those jammers up, we would never take them down again. They were designed so that they were impossible to disable. None of the scientists were able to undo it. Neither was I."

"Maybe there was some sort of fail safe to prevent the jammers from being disabled?" Sam asked.

Jama nodded in agreement. "Perhaps."

"So that's why they chucked you out?"

"When they fled, yes. Before that I was a prisoner in one of the now-destroyed chambers underneath the Hall of Justice."

"They tortured you?" Daniel asked.

"No, not my people; Anubis did when he did come. Those who weren't able to flee through the Stargate were captured and kept in the torture chambers until they were taken aboard his ship or killed. Our leaders deemed that to be a suitable punishment for me when they discovered what I had done, but I managed to elude capture in the chaos in the aftermath of Anubis' arrival. I was one of the last who were able to flee back to Tubris."

"So when they found you, your people sent you back here, hoping that Anubis would take you with him?" Daniel asked.

"Yes. But by then he was gone and I've been here alone ever since."

"That can't have been easy for you," Daniel said empathetically, thinking about what Jama had been through.

"No, it has not." Jama said, not commenting further. Daniel could understand why he wouldn't elaborate.

For a while no one said anything until Sam broke the silence. "Looks like Anubis made sure no one could use this technology again," Sam commented after poking around a little, trying to see if there was anything left that would turn on.

"What about the Circulus?" Daniel asked when they were walking back towards the Gate. "You activated that now. Is it transmitting a message to Anubis as well?"

"No, it isn't. The technology the Circulus is made up of is entirely different from the one I activated back then. It is of a more ancient design."

"Carter!" Jack called. Sam hurriedly brought out her scanners and started to examine the cylinder again.

"It's not emitting anything, sir. I think Jama's right. It doesn't even look like anything else here."

"May I come with you now?" Jama asked.

"I don't know," Jack said, still not feeling sure they could trust this guy. And what was the point anyway? If they found the Tuberous, why would they want to talk to SG-1 if they came lugging one of their criminals with them? However, Jama could also be the clue that solved the mystery of finding the Tuberous.

"Jack, he did help us get this thing to work again," Daniel said. "What if he comes unarmed?"

"He's got his brain, Daniel. He can zap us into oblivion with just thinking about it. I'd say you can't disarm him of that and he's no good to us unconscious."

"He's got a point, Jama. I don't think it's safe for us to bring you with us. You may endanger us further." Rubbing his forehead, willing away his headache that had persisted despite the Tylenol he'd taken earlier, Daniel continued. "Have you tried to return by yourself?"

"Yes, but as soon as I come close to Trusla, I'm evicted again. I had hoped your presence would prevent that."

"So there are people on Tubris? And they come out now and again to send you back here?" Daniel asked.

Jama shook his head. "No, no. The Ring activates and an invisible force sends me back here. I can teleport people the same way."

"Through the wormhole?" Sam asked.

"Yes."

"That's incredible."

Jama shrugged.

"Or," Sam said, "maybe there's a default mechanism in the Gate that sends him back here each time the Gate recognises it's Jama that's coming through?" Sam guessed. "I have no idea how that would actually work but it's a thought."

"I do not know how such a thing is possible," Teal'c said.

Jack shook his head. "I'm sorry, but we can't take the chance."

"Jack! This isn't Hadante. I'm sure his people won't condemn us along with him," Daniel said, remembering the prison planet.

"I'm not worried about us. We can always 'gate somewhere else and go home from there. But Jama's a convicted felon, Daniel. He's done some really bad things. Perhaps there is no such thing as forgiveness and repentance for these people."

"The Colonel's right, Daniel," said Sam. "We can't take the risk."

"Can't we in the very least show him some other place to go then? Perhaps we even can find the planet where his daughter was taken? He's been here all alone," Daniel persisted. "That's inhumane. Besides, who's to say he'd do anything like that again? I'm sure he's learned his lesson. Haven't you, Jama?"

"Yes, have you?" Jack asked in a voice that was just shy of mocking, staring at Jama. "How long have you been here anyway?"

"I have been here for 200 years, and yes, I have learned my lesson."

"Jama, wait here, the rest of you, come with me," Jack said, leading his team a little ways from Jama, while still keeping the other man in sight.

"What if he leaves, sir?" Sam said.

"Then he leaves," Jack said, not really caring.

"He won't leave if he wants to come with us and he can't stay here," Daniel said.

"Why not? He's a convicted felon of this world. It's only suitable if you ask me," Jack said. "Where else should we send him? Hadante?"

"Jack!"

"You brought it up, Daniel! It's a prison planet! He is in prison here too. It's practically the same thing."

"I would agree that this planet is a suitable prison. It is only fitting that he remains on a world he has destroyed while his people go free," Teal'c added. "He is not suffering overly much. There is evidently a food source and fresh water nearby. Otherwise he would be dead a long time ago."

"Yes, but 200 years has passed. Perhaps there is hope for him among his own people? They might have forgiven him, as Daniel suggested earlier," Sam said. "We take back prisoners into the society after they've served their sentence. Who's to say he's been sentenced here for life?"

"She's got a point, Jack."

Jack motioned for the others to join him as they walked back to Jama who was patiently waiting where they'd left him. "What was your sentence, exactly?" He asked.

"To remain here for as long as anyone who remembered my actions lived. There was no specific time limit."

"We could try bringing him back to 552 and see what happens," Sam suggested. "If nothing else he'll just get sent back here again and there would be no harm done."

"Okay, fine." Jack turned to Jama, "You do know that this thing," he indicated the Stargate, "can transport you to many different worlds?"

"It can?" Jama said, clearly surprised. "I did not know. I have not found evidence of its existence in any of the documents I've studied. You came through it, but I took it for granted you came from Tubris. How did you get to Tubris? Do you possess a spaceship?"

"Yes, we do, but we came through this thing, the Stargate," Daniel explained. "It is a fast and easy way of transport. Your people never tried to dial it when you lived on Tubris?"

"Not as long as I was there. We had no use for the Stargate. As far as we knew it only led back here."

"Are you certain you are the only inhabitant of this world?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes, I am."

Jack was still not sold on the idea of taking Jama with them. He could pose a threat. "What if Anubis finds him? I'm sure it's this gene these people have he's after. Am I right, Jama?"

"That is correct." Jama said.

"I do not believe it is worth the risk," Teal'c said. "There is no immediate danger for him here, yet there is more danger to us if he comes with us."

"What are we going to do about 552 and Jama?" Daniel asked after the discussion had gone back and forth a while.

"Well, we gate to 552 with him and see what happens. With him with us I wouldn't gate straight home anyway, not unless someone tell us he was wrongly accused. If he can adjust the frequency jammers on this world and teleport things, he'd be a security risk. Let's see if it's true that he gets chucked back here if he comes to 552. He reminds me of Linea and I don't want to have another encounter like that." Jack looked at Daniel, wondering exactly how much he remembered. "Would you? You do remember Ke'ra, don't you?" he asked kindly, looking at Daniel's face for any recognition of what had happened.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, I do. And I wouldn't want him on Earth either. I just hope that we are able to find his people."

"Is it better to rot in a cell than being alone but able to walk around as you want?" Jack asked.

Daniel shook his head. "I guess not."

"You okay?" Jack asked, noticing Daniel rub at his forehead again.

Daniel nodded, foregoing letting Jack know that the queasiness was back and that his stomach was starting to ache a little again. "Yeah, let's go." Walking back to the others by the Gate, Sam dialled and they entered the wormhole.

 

&&&&&

 

As they exited the gate on Tubris, Jama immediately disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Daniel asked, looking around in confusion. The gate was shutting down behind them and there was no evidence of Jama having run away.

"Perhaps he transported himself somewhere?" Teal'c guessed.

"Or the Tuberous are here after all and sent him back. Let's go see if we can get in touch with them now. You up to this, Daniel?" Jack asked, looking intently at his friend. "You could 'gate home and have Janet take another look."

"It's fine. All my tests came back negative yesterday, except for a few small gallstones. Janet said they could cause pain but weren't going to hinder me in moving around. I'll manage. It's not that far and we're close to the gate if I start feeling worse."

Sam unfastened her pack and took out the med kit. "Here," Sam said, handing Daniel a tablet. "It's Compazine; it should help with the nausea."

"Thanks." Swallowing the medication down, Daniel adjusted his pack. "It's just a headache! You know that sometimes makes me queasy."

"Yeah, but I'm not too happy about this, Daniel," Jack said, "Promise to take it easy and I'll let you stay. If you that tablet don't help I'm sending you home."

"I promise," Daniel said and meant it.

Jack grumbled to himself for a moment then sighed. "Keep your eyes open, then," he said. "Let's head out. Teal'c you take point. Carter, Daniel. I'll watch your six."

 

&&&&&

 

The trek to where they'd found the building with the murals and the crevice went without incident. Daniel could feel the Compazine had started to work, and the nausea was almost gone.

"This is it," Daniel said.

"I don't see anything," Jack said.

"But it was here, I'm sure of it," Daniel protested. "I recognise the structure over there, it looks like a half-barrel turned on its side. "There's no sign of Jama though."

"Sir, Daniel's right." Sam said, "It's gone. There's an area of ground that's completely clean and untouched as if something just previously was standing there. It's gone."

"What do you mean it's gone? It was here yesterday," Jack said. "It can't disappear like that."

"Uh, actually it can," Daniel chimed in, having to stop to catch his breath as the pain in his stomach flared for a moment before settling down again. "That piece of rubble Jama disintegrated was pretty big. I'm sure he could hide or move or destroy this building if he wanted as well."

"But why would he? It's clearly the only way to get past that illusion." Jack argued.

"We don't know that," Sam said. "We know it's one way, but there might be another."

"So we've spent all this time figuring that Circulus out for nothing!" Jack threw his cap down, frustrated. "Carter, please tell me you have another explanation for this."

"I don't," Sam said. "But I've been thinking. As we walked I studied the area where the illusion starts and it hit me. I think it's fluctuating. Whatever Jama or whoever it was did to the building, it's affected the illusion and it's becoming unstable."

"You're saying there's some way we can bypass it?" Daniel asked.

"Perhaps," Sam clipped her pack off from the back of her vest and started to root through it. "I didn't think we'd need this." She brought out a piece of equipment she'd previously not used when they scanned the cylinder and the mural room earlier. Daniel remembered she'd used it on the cylinder when they first started to study it though. Speaking of which, he unclipped his own backpack and brought the cylinder out. It was still glowing.

"What are you attempting to do?" Teal'c asked.

"I'm going to see if that force field or whatever it is that keeps the illusion up changes or disappears when I use this. I think it's just a matter of finding the right frequency. It couldn't hurt to try, sir."

Sam moved towards the clearly fluctuating illusion, the rest of them following right behind her. "You think it will have any affect on the cylinder as well?" Daniel asked, standing beside Sam, cylinder in hand.

"I have no idea, Daniel. Let's try."

Moving the scanner over the illusion, Sam adjusted the frequency as she went. After a few moments of trial and error she finally found the one that worked and the illusion fluctuated like ripples on water before it blurred completely and fell away with a sizzle. As it fell away it revealed only more ruins, but no mural room with a crevice meant for a cylinder.

"No!" Daniel shouted in frustration, "that can't be it. It can't just disappear like that."

As they stood there gaping at the revelation of yet more destroyed buildings, a white light erupted from within the ruins, enveloping them brightness before snatching them away. What now could be seen left on the planet were now a Stargate, some ruins and a piece of technology that clearly was of Tau'ri construction, the MALP, plus one single man who appeared beside the Stargate just as the others disappeared. The Stargate came to life and the cursing man was transported into the wormhole.


	7. Chapter 7

PART SEVEN

When the white light disappeared and Jack had got his vision back he instinctively started to assess the situation. Carter was to his immediate left, blinking owlishly as he just had done. Teal'c was right in front of him, looking as if nothing had happened, merely waiting for the others to gain their composure. Daniel on the other hand was lying in a heap on the floor, clutching his stomach and rocking to and fro in slow motion, his eyes wide open and teeth clenched tight in pain.

"Daniel!"

"Jack. What just happened?" Daniel asked, blinking in confusion and unclenching his jaw as Jack crouched down beside him and placed one hand on Daniel's hip, another on his shoulder, trying to still the rocking motion.

"We got zapped," Jack looked around the room a little more. "We're alone. Jama didn't get zapped with us." There was nothing there, just the four of them. "How are you feeling?" He asked, turning back to Daniel who now had stopped rocking but did no attempt at getting to his feet.

"Daniel!" Sam exclaimed as she got her bearings, she too crouching down beside Daniel.

"Ow," Daniel complained as he sat up with his friends' help. "That hurt," he said still keeping his arms protectively over his stomach, moving around on the floor to look around.

"Are you injured? I thought you said you were feeling better." Sam took one of Daniel's hands in hers and felt for his pulse. It was fast.

"Thought I was too," Daniel said, groaning. "It's just a cramp."

"Daniel! What did I just say?" Jack growled.

"I know, but I didn't know it was coming. I can't predict these things," Daniel shot back.

"Let me have a look," Sam said, watching as Daniel kept holding his hand protectively over his stomach. Putting his other hand down to the floor and out of the way, she moved to unzip his vest and jacket, yanking his t-shirt out of his pants to have a look. Jack sat back against the wall and leaned Daniel up against himself, lifting him under his arms and pinning Daniel's flailing arms to his sides as if it would still Daniel's vocal protests while Sam checked him out.

"I was feeling better. It's going away now. Sam, your hands are cold. Don't do that!"

"Let her see, Daniel," Jack chided, holding his friend tighter.

Sighing, Daniel wearily leaned his head back against Jack's shoulder and let Sam palpate his stomach. Being zapped had left him drained of energy and at this point the only thing he was feeling was a persistent ache that continued to get worse in waves and constantly increasing nausea. Shivering at as his skin was exposed to the cool air of the chamber they found themselves in, Daniel tried to preserve warmth by curling up.

"Just a sec, Daniel," Sam said, gently pressing her fingers into Daniel's abdomen, looking for resistance. "I can't feel anything, except that you're a little warm. I'm no doctor, sir, I don't know." Looking to Jack she continued, "His stomach is soft, though; that's always a good sign." As Sam pressed her fingers deeper Daniel's breathing sped up and he turned an interesting shade of green. Roughly pushing Sam aside, Daniel lunged to the side, in too much of a hurry to get away, leaning on Jack's bent leg and throwing up this morning's coffee and apple.

"That was disgusting," Jack commented, rubbing Daniel's back through the vest and holding his head up. When he was done, Daniel leaned on Jack's leg for a moment, catching his breath and wiping his hands over his face. Sitting back, he allowed Jack to be his cushion for a moment longer as he got his breathing under control and made sure no repeat performance was going to happen in the immediate future.

"It's probably the gallstones Janet found," Daniel explained, tugging his clothing back down and sitting up fully.

"That actually makes sense," Sam said, helping Daniel to his feet. "I've heard that gallstones can be painful, but they're mostly harmless."

"Yeah," Daniel took some small sips of water from the canteen Sam handed him and wiped his hands and face with the sweaty bandana that previously had been wrapped around his head. Tucking the smelly piece of cloth into a pocket, Daniel drank some more water and slowly got to his feet, grateful that the water seemed to stay put. He could live with the pain, but if the nausea kept assailing him like it'd done now, he knew he'd be lying in a curled heap in a corner pretty soon. It not only aggravated the now-constant pain, but made it nearly unbearable while the bout of cramps lasted. Feeling cold and drained, he finished tucking his t-shirt into his pants and zipped up both the jacket and the vest to conserve as much heat as possible.

"I'll get you some Tylenol 3s," Jack said, patting Daniel on the shoulder, starting to look for the med kit that was in Daniel's pack. He was starting to regret not forcing the issue and sending Daniel home once he'd started showing signs of feeling sick. "The minute we find a way out of here, you're going home." Jack immediately started to look for a doorway, cursing under his breath when he couldn't find any apparent exit.

"DanielJackson, if you are able, I believe you should see this," Teal'c said as soon as Daniel had swallowed two of the stronger Tylenol and got to his feet.

"What is it?" Daniel came over to where Teal'c was standing, studying the wall his friend had mentioned.

"These walls appear to be covered in writing. It is a riddle."

"It's the same writing as the scroll. Whatever this is, it's clearly meant to be for the people on this planet. Jack, I think we're still on the planet. We've just got transported somewhere."

"By who?" Jack asked. "Jama?"

Looking more closely at the symbols and writing on the wall, Daniel wasn't immediately recognising what the riddle was, but that didn't mean he couldn't solve it, given time. "There are some Asgard runes here," he said, indicating a line of symbols like the one that read PI on Cimmeria. "This definitely doesn't translate into PI though. I don't know what this is."

"I knew it!" Jack exclaimed. "The thing that brought us here was an Asgard phone. I hope Thor's home." Looking around the room, Jack yelled, "Hey Thor! You there? Thor? Buddy?"

Daniel chuckled. "That's not going to work, Jack. You know that."

"I do not understand, O'Neill," Teal'c said, looking confusedly at their surroundings, expecting someone to explain why Jack was yelling at Thor.

"I think this is like that place we encountered on Cimmeria," Daniel said. "These symbols do look like a riddle. Maybe the Asgard placed it here so that only those they deemed worthy," Daniel made quotation marks in the air, "could get in contact with them. That's why these people have been fleeing all their lives. They've lost contact with the Asgard and Anubis saw his chance and enslaved them. If Thor knew that Anubis was chasing them across the galaxy he'd do something about it. Jack, I think this planet once was a part of the protected planets network and that they at some point in time, a very long time ago, either did something that made them fall out with the Asgard or in some other way lost contact with the Asgard so they don't know what's been going on here."

"They fled, Daniel. Would the Asgard protect them when they moved to another planet?"

"I don't know. Perhaps they protect the people as well as the planet. Earth's protected, but I don't think it says anywhere in the treaty that the Asgard will protect us if we move to another planet. I have to go back and check to be sure."

"Fine, we'll do that later. Or we can ask Thor. But let's assume for now that they do protect Tubris, wouldn't they protect Tuberous as well?"

"I don't know. I think it's in our agreement that if we flee to another planet we wouldn't be protected. I'm sure the same goes for the Tuberous. Maybe the Asgard are monitoring the planet now and recognise us from Jama," Sam said. "That doesn't explain the illusion though."

"Maybe that was just that, an illusion, to create yet another distraction?" Daniel guessed.

"One problem here though," Jack said. "Why would the beam not transport Jama here with us?"

"Perhaps he was sent back before we were transported here. Or maybe it can tell the difference between races, just like Thor's Hammer on Cimmeria could tell Teal'c from us. Maybe there is some way to detect Jama's gene. If the Gate can do it I'm sure Thor could. That is if the Gate can. It sounds a bit far-fetched to me, but it might be possible like Sam said. Thor would know."

"That does indeed sound like a plausible explanation," Teal'c said. "Because of the gene Jama and his people possess it might be possible to distinguish them from us. There is, however, one problem with your theory, DanielJackson."

"We didn't need an interface to get beamed up. I don't think the cylinder, uh, Circulus would let us communicate with the Asgard though. Remember, neither the Cimmerians or the K'Tau had any idea how the Hammer or obelisk worked."

"They didn't have any technology that could be interfaced with the obelisk," Sam said. "I don't know if the Circulus would either. It just isn't how the Asgard do things."

"I know." Daniel started studying the riddle again. "So, on one hand we have a cylinder that's somehow some form of advanced technology that leads to something we can't figure out what is because the interface for it is simply gone. On the other hand we have a civilization of people who just won't be found and then somehow, we find evidence that leads us to believe the Asgard are involved."

"Don't forget Anubis," Jack said.

"I really don't know what to make of this," Daniel sighed.

"There is yet another problem," Teal'c continued.

"Yeah, I know," Daniel sighed and wrapped his arms around himself again, "there's no Asgard hologram here. Unless we find that we can't be sure that whatever zapped us here is an Asgard transporter after all."

"Indeed."

"But that doesn't mean there hasn't been one," Sam said. "Let's check this place out, see if we can find out some more. If this is a communications platform then there should be some Asgard technology here somewhere. And you did find some runes, so I'd say the Asgard is definitely involved in this."

"Carter, Teal'c, you look for the technology. Daniel, what about these riddles, do you think you can solve them?" Jack asked, shining his flashlight on one of the walls.

 

&&&&&

 

"Sam, I've been thinking," Daniel said after studying the inscription on the walls for a while. "There is something else about our theory that doesn't make sense. The protected planets treaty clearly states that no planet under the Asgard protection could advance to a point where they surpassed the Asgard."

"Yeah, that's what's been bothering me too. But Daniel, we don't know that the technology on either planet was that advanced. What we've seen is more advanced than ours, but there are cultures more advanced than us that are protected by the Asgard as well. Thor said we were the Fifth Race, that we'd grown advanced enough to learn of their existence, remember? If the Tuberous' gene is a bi-product of what Anubis did to them, the Asgard wouldn't take that into account and consider the Tuberous more advanced than us. I'm thinking it was their original state of development – both mental and technological – that earned them the Asgard's protection, not their current state.

"I think that the reason or at least one of the reasons, why this planet either isn't under the Asgard's protection any longer is because of what Jama did to those jammers. Maybe the plague that helped destroy these people is a side-effect of the gene they possess or something Anubis inflicted them with when he couldn't use them any more, wanting to destroy all evidence of his experiments, Jama is still responsible."

"There's that," Daniel agreed, leaning against the wall for support. "Or the plague could be a natural occurrence. If there's something in the water it can affect crops, animals and people, no civilization would let it get so far that it destroyed them a second time without doing whatever they could to stop it. If they'd been through it once, don't you think they would do everything in their power to find a way for it not to happen again? I don't know what caused that plague, but I'm sure you're right Anubis had something to do with it."

"There might also be proof in the soil samples SG-13 collected. We won't know till we get home. But what if they did find a way for the plague not to hit them again, but something went wrong anyway, by their own or Anubis doing?" Sam said, scanning the room for any signs of technology hidden within the walls. "Jama fiddled with the frequency jammers but he didn't invent the plague. Bottom line is that whichever way we turn this, Anubis is the one eventually responsible."

Daniel nodded and they continued to work in silence. Jack paced the room, poking at whatever he could find that jutted out from the walls, but nothing brought them closer to an answer and nothing lit up or sprang out of the wall. Sighing heavily and getting tired of waiting for his scientists to finish he asked, "Carter, have you found anything yet?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said, putting the scanner away and pulling something out from within the walls. "It's definitely of Asgard design," she said, already moving the glowing control stone around on the interface.

"How long?" Jack asked, staring at the spot-lighted circle in the middle of the room, expecting Thor to beam in any minute. Across from him, on the other side of the circle, Daniel was leaning sideways against the wall, leaning forward with one hand on the wall, the other on his stomach and his eyes closed, breathing fast. Clearly the Compazine wasn't doing its trick and he was about to throw up again.

"I don't know, sir. I can't say for sure what this terminal does."

"Okay, well keep at it. Teal'c, Daniel, anything on the riddles?" Jack asked when it was evident Daniel wasn't going to throw up after all.

"Not yet," Daniel said when he'd caught his breath.

"They are most difficult," Teal'c answered.

"Well, hurry up then," Jack started pacing the room impatiently. He wasn't all too happy about Daniel working in the condition he obviously was in, but that brain of his did miracles on a daily basis, and if Daniel felt up to continuing, Jack wouldn't stop him now. But once they found a way out of here…

"Jack?" Daniel turned to look at him. What are you doing?

"Daniel," Jack stopped his pacing and looked at his friend. You don't look so good.

"Jack!" I'm fine.

"Daniel," Jack sighed.

"Hey," San said, interrupting their one-word conversation. "I think I've got it."

"Excellent!" Jack walked over to her, expectantly looking at the lit circle again. "Well?" he demanded when nothing immediately happened.

"I think I've found a way to contact the Asgard. Now we just have to wait."

"Great. How long," Jack asked again.

"I don't know."

"How much time has previously passed when you have attempted this?" Teal'c asked.

"I don't know," Jack admitted, "maybe a few minutes."

"Here's a thought," Daniel said. "Why didn't the beam leave Teal'c behind?"

"Because of the Hammer, you moron, they probably modified all the transporters after the incident on Cimmeria," Jack said, a little worried that Daniel hadn't thought of it earlier. But since none of them had, he supposed it was all right for Daniel to be a little dense about this glaringly obvious fact as well.

"Right, sorry." Daniel slid down against the wall he was studying, bending his knees while keeping his arms wrapped around himself.

"Hey," Sam said, sitting down beside him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, guys. I really don't feel so good," Daniel admitted. "I truly was better, but now I think my stomach has got a mind of its own."

"Daniel!" Jack said urgently, sitting down on Daniel's other side, reaching for his clothes to check his stomach again. Daniel swatted his hands away.

"Stop that," Daniel wrapped his arms tighter around himself. "I'm just nauseous again. I'm sure it'll pass if I sit down for a bit."

They had to wait now anyway, so why not make the best of it and rest a little, Jack decided. Daniel's breathing sped up a few times, but it was only false alarms and each time he settled again, though he was getting increasingly pale and his eyes were starting to look somewhat glazed over. "You want some more Tylenol?" Jack asked, starting to feel somewhat desperate about his friend's health. He reached a hand over, placing it on Daniel's forehead. "Damn it, Daniel!"

Daniel looked at him bleary-eyed. "What?"

"Sorry," Jack said, softening his voice. It wasn't Daniel's fault he got sick now. He had been looking much better and hadn't been hindered in his work when they got back to Tubris, so Jack couldn't blame Daniel. He'd acted responsibly. It was just dumb luck. "I'm just worried. And you're running a fever." Daniel closed his eyes in response and let Jack rest his hand on his head. He felt too tired to bother about pushing it away. The several false alarms were draining what was left of his energy and Daniel shivered a little with the combination of cooling perspiration and elevated temperature.

"It's not been four hours yet, sir, I don't think he should have any more just yet," Sam said. "How about some water?" Sam unclipped her canteen and handed it to Daniel. "It might help."

"Thanks," Daniel drank a few sips, but the water immediately protested on the way down and Daniel quickly handed the canteen back. "On second thought, I think I'll just take a nap since we're not going anywhere for a while. I'm really tired."

"Daniel?" Despite knowing the Compazine would make Daniel somewhat drowsy, Jack was alarmed at his friend's truthfulness about how he was feeling. Usually Daniel would never admit to how he was feeling, but they were off-world, and that made a big difference. To let down his guard like that, Daniel had to have so much confidence in this being an Asgard phone that he was able to relax his defences, trusting his friends to look out for him.

"Its okay, Jack, I'm sure I'll feel better once I've slept a bit." Daniel reached for his pack and put it under his head as a pillow.

"Wait," Sam said, worried as Daniel evidently was too tired to make a proper pallet for himself. "That's not very comfortable. Here," she handed him her jacket and pulled out one of the emergency blankets from her vest pocket, spreading it over him.

"Thanks, Sam," Daniel smiled. A little while later he slept, snoring lightly.

"I'll watch Daniel, you two see if you can figure out more of this stuff while we wait," Jack said.

 

&&&&&

 

Daniel woke an hour later, feeling much refreshed, at least when he wasn't moving. As he sat up a low whine could be heard and he got to his feet in one swift motion, the blanket still clinging to his body. Shrugging it off, he reached for his Beretta, yanking it out of its holster, cocking it and aimed it straight ahead, his eyes not even fully open yet.

"Whoa, Daniel! Easy," Jack said, not a little proud that Daniel could be triggered into action at the slightest sound especially considering how he must be feeling. "It's just Thor."

"What?" Confused, Daniel looked around the room, understanding where they were. Embarrassed he holstered his gun again, picking up his blanket instead, tucking it into his pack. "Sorry. I just thought that..."

"I know what you thought," Jack said gently. "And I'm glad you can spring into action that quickly, but you can take it easy now. We're not going into battle. Anubis isn't here."

"Greetings, Daniel Jackson," Thor said. If the little guy could show amusement, he was clearly smiling now. "I am glad you are awake."

"Thanks, Thor. When did you get here?" Daniel asked, feeling a blush starting at the base of his neck and covering his entire face. What on earth had he been dreaming since he could snap out so quickly? Jack was right, he'd clearly been afraid Anubis would come and find them too. Daniel was usually a slow riser and never had trigger-reactions to being woken like that. He'd learned to sleep lightly when they were on missions, but now he hadn't been feeling well and there was no sign of danger here. His subconscious must have thought it safe to fall properly asleep. Shrugging as the dream eluded him, he looked at the others. Sam and Teal'c were still studying the technology they'd found in the walls and Jack was standing beside the lit circle in the middle of the room.

"Just now. You were woken by my arrival. You are not well?"

"I'm fine," Daniel said, still feeling like his whole face was on fire. But the nap had helped and he was feeling much better – again.

"Indeed," Thor answered. "I am much impressed by your speed and reaction time."

"Thanks," Daniel said, still blushing. He could feel he had a low-grade fever by how his entire body ached, but it wasn't too bad, and his stomach had settled for now even if it still ached. Feeling the need to change the subject he asked, "So, can you help us?"

"We haven't had time to explain why we called him yet, Daniel," Jack said.

"Ah. Well, do you want me to do it?"

"That's okay, I'll do it. You just sit back and rest." Jack said.

 

&&&&&

 

"What do you think?" Jack asked after explaining about their theories and their meeting with Jama.

"Mostly you are correct in your assumptions," Thor said. "The Tuberous, or the Tubris if you will, are protected under the protected planets treaty. Many, many years ago, they were living as a peaceful race like the Cimmerians or the people of the K'Tau like you've met before, but someone started to experiment with their genetic makeup, hiding among them as a scientist. We believe that to be Anubis. This is happened a very long time ago, before we even knew he had come back into the galaxy. This was before he attempted to ascend, which means his host was a human of flesh and bones. The Goa'uld has, as you know, the ability to sound like its host and cover up its existence to unsuspecting people, and we believe this is what Anubis did."

"It's just like the Kull warriors," Sam said. "Anubis has been experimenting with human hosts for as long as he's been around. Poor people, The Tuberous must always have known they got advanced abilities as they grew older, but as he said, Jama didn't know how they can do what they do. Daniel, did either the scroll or the tablet say anything about this at all?"

Daniel shook his head. "No, there's no indication of Goa'uld involvement except for the mention of the powerful being that forced them from Tubris and chased them."

"Yes," Thor said, "that would be Anubis' doing."

"So," Daniel said. "Anubis has been after these people since the beginning of time. They got genetically altered, and developed the ability to destroy things or make things with their minds. But when things got too far for Anubis liking he struck them with the plague, more or less eradicating the entire population in one fell swoop. Apparently these were intelligent people to begin with and at some point understood what happened."

"Yes, that is why they fled the first time. They couldn't evade the plague any more and needed to preserve what was left of their population before it died out completely. They found Anubis out, and somehow he disappeared from their world for a time. Yet the damage was done and as new generations were born they were born with the same altered gene. As time went they developed as a race and the gene developed with them. Anubis had succeeded," Thor said.

"And so he chased them, wanting to learn what had happened to them and continue his research."

"Yes," Thor added sadly.

"And when Jama changed the frequency emitters they fled again."

"Indeed."

"Why couldn't you protect them?" Jack asked.

"We tried. But Anubis grew too strong for us. We too were not as evolved as we are now, and he was too strong for us at the time. There was a period in the Tubris' history where we could not help and it was during that time they fled to Tuberous. When we later came to see how they were doing, the planet was destroyed and we could not find them. We returned back to Tubris but could not find them there, either."

"So that's why both planets are protected," Daniel asked.

"Indeed. Like on Cimmeria and K'Tau, we created their religion as a means to mask our existence and watched over them. We even placed a device much like the obelisks on Cimmeria on Tubris so that they could contact us."

"You did?" Daniel asked. "Where is it now?"

"It should be there," Thor said. "But if much of the planet is ruined, it is likely it too has been destroyed."

"Do you know where the people are now?" Jack asked.

"We do not. We had hoped you had found them since my ship detected you on this planet. We have been monitoring Tubris and Tuberous for quite some time now, but no one has contacted us. We saw that you arrived and brought you here."

"Jama clearly didn't know about your existence," Daniel said. "Otherwise I'm sure he'd try. Is there an, um… Asgard phone on Tuberous?"

"An Asgard phone?" Thor asked, cocking his head to one side.

"Yeah, you know that pillar with the red stone that transport those who touch it into a hall where they can talk to you. It's something like the obelisk on Cimmeria. An Asgard phone," Daniel explained.

"No, there is not."

"Why didn't you create one there as well?" Daniel asked.

"As I said, we fell out of contact with them for a time after they first moved there. It was simply not done."

"And when they fled back to Tubris the one that once had been there had fallen into ruin."

"Indeed."

"They could be hiding in another section of the galaxy," Sam guessed. "Or they could just be hiding from you. Tuberous was destroyed by Anubis just a few centuries ago, and we're guessing that they came back here but we can't find them. There was an illusion in the ruins that we thought was a hidden passageway to where they were hiding, but it revealed nothing more than more ruins."

"You did not attempt to contact us?" Thor asked, confused.

"No, we were looking for a building that we found the last time we were here, but it had gone. In the meantime we met one of the Tuberous and he activated an object for us that we thought would be the key to finding them, but when we got to where the building was supposed to be it was gone and we were zapped here." Jack explained. "There is also the small matter of this Jama who we met on 789,"

"That's Tuberous," Daniel interjected.

"Yeah, there," Jack said. "Anyway, he wasn't of mush help either, except he made this thing that we'd found glow and we thought that was the key to find the Teletubbies."

"Tuberous," Daniel patiently explained.

"You have this object here with you?" Thor asked. Daniel nodded. "May I see it?" Daniel held the cylinder out so Thor, who was appearing as a hologram, could see it. It was still glowing. "It is of Tuberous design," Thor mused. "It is not something required to contact us."

"That's what we figured out," Daniel put the cylinder back into his pack. "Do you know what it's supposed to do?"

"I do not," Thor shook his head.

"Jack, we never got around to ask Jama exactly what it would do once it worked again," Daniel said regretfully. "Unless we find the Tuberous we'll never know what it really was for. It's like you said, Thor, I'm sure the obelisk to contact you must have been completely destroyed. We didn't find any runic inscriptions when we searched the ruins."

"Yeah, about that," Jack said. "These people have some pretty advanced technology. Do you allow that? I mean, you have repeatedly said that we Earthlings are primitive, but these people are far more advanced than us."

"Yes, their technology has come far, but it is not as advanced as you think, and its development has not gone too far."

"Jama said they were talking about making ships. Perhaps they did," Sam said. "I don't know how advanced those ships would be. On the other hand at least Jama had no idea that the Stargate could transport them to other planets except to Tubris. I think it's mostly an illusion that as well. I think these people have done everything they could to hide who and what they really are in hopes of Anubis never finding them again."

"You are correct," Thor said. "You are very intelligent and far from primitive, Major Carter. Indeed, none of you are primitive," he said, looking at all of them. "Please, tell me about this Jama."

"He's the man we found on Tuberous," Daniel said. "He's a criminal but also a historian and has been living there alone for 200 years if what he told us is true. He came with us to Tubris and I don't know where he is now. He didn't get transported with us up here, wherever here is."

"You are still on Tubris," Thor answered. "I do not see any other life-signs on the planet."

"So, it's safe to assume he was sent back to Tuberous as he predicted," Daniel said.

"I do not understand," Thor blinked questioningly at Daniel.

"He said he couldn't leave Tuberous, that the crimes he had committed forced him to stay there till the memory of what he'd done was wiped from existence or something to that effect."

"I see. It is likely that the rest of the people still are on this planet and are monitoring his existence and somehow can remotely transport him back again. These people have become very advanced if they remotely can transport people from one planet to the other. I shall have to contact them. I shall also have to look for Jama on Tuberous once we are done here. I am curious as to why they can hide from my sensors. I should have detected their existence if they still are here."

"That makes a lot of sense," Sam said.

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"I must admit," Thor said, "that due to the war with the Replicators this ship is not up to our best of standards. I had to procure a small and old vessel to travel here once the beacon that alerted us of someone entering this cave started transmitting. I'm afraid my sensors might not be completely reliable. I will however attempt to fix them."

"Take us with you; we would like to meet them as well," Daniel said. "Please. We really need to help these people. They've been fleeing and lived in hiding for centuries. If you can't help them, maybe we can."

"I cannot promise you that, Daniel Jackson. But we will try to locate them," Thor said.

"That is if they want our help," Jack said sarcastically.

"Jack! We have to at least try!" Daniel said angrily. He stared at Jack, eyes wide open, eyebrows meeting his hairline, arms spread wide. He needed to do something – anything for these people.

"Indeed," Thor agreed. "We will try."

"Daniel?" Jack objected. "What are you doing? Last time I checked you were puking your guts up and running a fever."

"I feel much better. The nap helped," Daniel said dismissively, too eager about the potential of finding the Tuberous to be bothered about a little stomach ache that seemed to continue to diminish as time passed. "Don't you see, Jack. Thor can take us to these people and we can get the answers we've been looking for! I'll take another nap."

Thor cocked his head again at that, looking at Daniel. "Are you ill?"

"I wasn't feeling so good earlier, but as I'm trying to explain to Jack here, I'm feeling a lot better."

Jack sighed and Thor blinked, looking from Jack to Daniel and back again. "No," Jack said. "You're going home."

"What?" Daniel was getting angry. "Why?"

"Because if we go with Thor and there is a battle or something unforeseen happens, as it usually does with us, puking on your enemies may disgust them, but it won't make them go away. Daniel, you know this, right?"

Now it was Daniel's turn to sigh. "Yeah, but I had to try, okay?"

"I understand," Jack said, patting Daniel's arm.

"For Dr. Jackson to return, you will have to come aboard my ship first. I can beam you down to the planet's surface from there and you may use the Stargate to get home."

"Okay, fine," Jack said.

"Whenever you are ready," Thor said. "Stand here and I will beam you aboard my ship. You can contact the SGC from there."

"Okay then," Jack said. "I guess we're going. Thanks, Thor." Gathering their things, SG-1 went to stand where Thor now had disappeared from and waited for the white beam to snatch them away. As the white light appeared Daniel said dejectedly, "I never got to figure out those riddles."

Jack was about to answer when the beam descended and swept them away.


	8. Chapter 8

PART EIGHT

I should be used to the Asgard beam by now, Daniel thought as the nausea he'd managed to keep somewhat at bay with Compazine earlier in the day now made a more forceful return appearance. The tingling feeling of the beam had not even left him before he was on his hands and knees on the floor of Thor's ship. It was all he could do to keep the contents of his stomach where they belonged, but he managed and was grateful for it. Feeling Teal'c's strong arms support him, Daniel sat back on his haunches before he got to his feet again.

"Thanks, Teal'c," he muttered, feeling completely drained.

"You are welcome, DanielJackson," Teal'c rumbled, keeping a hand on his friend till Daniel had got his bearings again.

"Daniel?" Jack asked, turning around to look at them from over by Thor's consoles. "You okay?"

"No," Daniel muttered, doubling over as the nausea aggravated the persistent pain. Breathing through another cramp, he stood straight again. "But I am now."

"We're just about to call home," Jack said, worriedly watching Daniel, relaxing when Daniel appeared to be over the bout of pain and sickness once again.

"You're going to need me when we find the Tuberous, you know that," Daniel said, scowling at Jack. He still wasn't willing to concede the argument completely. He knew it wasn't rational and that his thoughts most likely were clouded by how he was feeling physically, but for a moment Daniel felt his health wasn't as important as helping to find the Tuberous. He wasn't on the brink of death; he was just a little sick to his stomach. It would pass.

"If," Jack said, stressing the word and giving as good as he got. He scowled back looking Daniel straight in the eye, knowing what his friend was thinking, "If we find them, Daniel," he said when Daniel didn't back down. "As much as I'd like for you to be here when we find them, they can wait a day or two for you to get better so you can do your thing and make everyone friends again."

"I'm the peacemaker, eh?" Daniel laughed, but he immediately regretted it as the movement caused him more pain. Wincing, he said, "Yeah, okay." Admitting defeat, Daniel openly rubbed at his aching abdomen. Those gallstones hurt, a lot more than he'd been willing to admit. He couldn't take the chance of risking his team's life if it came to battle just because he was stubborn and willing to ignore pain, fever and nausea to find the Tuberous. And neither was Jack, as he had clearly pointed out just now. Daniel knew if he'd asked Sam or Teal'c, they too would object to him staying off-world any longer.

"O'Neill, I have established radio contact with Stargate Command. However, there is another problem. Numerous life-signs have appeared at the location of the Stargate. If you wish for Dr. Jackson to return home, I cannot beam him down without risking his life. I believe Anubis is keeping the planet under observation. Several Ha'taks are approaching. It would not be safe, and the 'Gate is most likely guarded. Also, this ship's hyperdrive is not as efficient asd the one on the ships I normally would use. We are too far from Earth for me to beam you directly there."

"How far from Earth, exactly," Sam asked.

"Three days journey with this ship."

"That far," Jack said disappointed and not a little surprised. "Three days you say. Even in hyperspace?"

"Yes," Thor said, indulging Jack. "As I explained, the hyperdrive on this ship is woefully inadequate. I have however been able to establish radio contact with Earth."

"Colonel?" General Hammond's voice said, interrupting them.

"We're aboard Thor's ship, sir. He's going to help us find the Teletubbies."

"The Tuberous," Daniel translated, chuckling to himself. "The people from P1N-552."

"We just wanted to clear it with you first and have a chat with Dr. Fraiser," Jack continued.

"Is everything all right, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"Mostly. Daniel's not feeling so good though and I want him to talk to Fraiser. We're too far out from Earth for Thor to beam him to the infirmary for a check-up. Thor says its three days travel from here to Earth, and Jaffa are blocking the Gate."

"Very well, hold on while I have someone contact her," Hammond said. A short while later he was back. "She's on her way. Now what is this about the people on 552? Didn't you say you found one inhabitant on P3M-789 that was of the people from 552?"

"Yes, we did, sir." Jack explained what had happened since his last contact with the SGC.

"I see," Hammond said. "You are certain the Asgard can find these people? Didn't you say Thor wasn't able to find their life-signs when he first scanned the planet?"

"Yes, sir," Jack said. Why had he said that? Now it sounded impossible for them to find the Tuberous. "But we have the utmost confidence in Thor, and we should try to help them, sir."

"Sir," Daniel interrupted. "They've been fleeing for generations. There's got to be something we can do."

"Anubis is a powerful enemy, Dr. Jackson," Hammond replied. "We haven't defeated him yet. And if he is the one who is after these people, I don't know if there is much good we can do."

"Sir!" Daniel protested. "These are people we're talking about."

"I know that, son," Hammond said patiently.

"I think the cylinder is a key to stopping them fleeing once and for all. It connects to something on Tubris, uh, 552, that I'm sure is some form of advanced technology. I'm not sure yet of what it does, but since the Asgard phone is presumed buried in the ruins along with the rest of the original structures on the planet, I think it's got to be a weapon or something else of great power. We just need to find these people to figure it out." Daniel wanted to say more, but another cramp twisted his stomach again and it was all he could do to breathe through it while it lasted.

"Doctor?" Hammond asked, curious as to why Daniel had disappeared.

"He's here, sir," Jack said. "He's just a little… incapacitated at the moment."

"Incapacitated, Colonel? What do you mean?"

"That's why we asked for Fraiser, sir. He's fine, but he's got some pretty debilitating stomach cramps now and again." Looking at Daniel, Jack added, "We need him for this, sir."

"Is it likely those are Anubis' Jaffa guarding the Stargate?" Hammond asked.

"That is a fair assumption," Teal'c said. "Anubis knows Tubris is the original home world of the Tuberous."

"I think he saw us," Sam said. "He's probably keeping the planet under observation."

"Dr. Fraiser is here now. Talk to her, and based on her verdict, I'll decide what to do in the meantime."

"Colonel?" Janet Fraiser's voice came over the loudspeakers. "What can I do to help?"

"It's Daniel. Those stomach cramps are getting worse; he's been nauseous, and he's running a fever."

"Jack!" Daniel whispered angrily, feeling somewhat ratted out. On the other hand, he was glad Jack was taking control, as controlling the cramps when they appeared drained more and more of his energy.

"Humor me, will you," Jack said kindly, knowing how much Daniel hated being sick. Daniel certainly wouldn't tell Fraiser what he was feeling when he felt vulnerable on top of everything else, and since she couldn't see him, Jack had to lay it out for her instead. It was as simple as that. Daniel would just have to live with it. "I'd like for him to return home, but there's Jaffa guarding the 'Gate at the moment. He's coming through as soon as they are gone."

"We'll be ready for him. Thanks, Colonel. Daniel," Janet asked. "How are you feeling?"

As Daniel talked to Fraiser, Jack walked over to Thor again. "Find anything?"

"Not yet. The Jaffa show no sign of moving from their position."

"Maybe we should fly over to Tuberous and see if the Tuberous are there anyway?" Sam asked.

"That would take several hours," Thor said.

"I wonder what made the Jaffa come in the first place. Can you detect any ships that might belong to Anubis?" Sam asked.

Thor shook his head. "We are aboard the only ship in vicinity of the planet. It is likely the Jaffa arrived through Stargate."

"Okay. If the Tuberous are on 552 there's nothing we can do at the moment. We have yet to get the go ahead from Hammond, so it's all academic at this point," Jack said, picking up one of the control stones that lay on the edge of one of Thor's consoles, tossing it back and forth in his hands while Daniel finished talking to Fraiser. "So?"

"She agrees with your assessment," Daniel said, looking at Jack.

"That's good." Jack thought he sounded defeated, but it could also be the sickness talking. Daniel's movements and speech was slower than their usual high pace, and Jack had no trouble seeing that keeping the façade up took more energy than Daniel really had to spare. He'd told them how he felt, but they were in space and Thor was there, which meant Daniel had to keep up an image of being able to cope. He'll just have to hold on a little longer, Jack thought to himself, it'll end soon. As soon as those Jaffa are gone we're outta here. "You'll be tucked up in a bed in the infirmary before you know it."

The side of Daniel's mouth turned up in the beginnings of a smile, but he stopped before it turned into a full-blown grin. This wasn't funny. The thought of that bed sounded better than Daniel was willing to admit. Deciding not to think about his situation for the moment, Daniel turned to Sam.

"Did she say what she thought was wrong?" Sam asked.

Daniel nodded. "She thinks I have an infection and that it is the reason for me to get worse so quickly."

Sam nodded and smiled gently. "That's what I thought. The fever's a dead giveaway."

"Colonel," Hammond's voice said again. "You have a go, but I want you back within 24 hours. Check in every 12 hours. Dr. Jackson returns as soon as it is safe."

"Thanks, sir," Jack said. "As soon as Thor says the Jaffa are leaving, he'll be on his way. Talk to you then."

"Very well, Hammond out."

 

&&&&&

 

"So, what now," Daniel asked two hours later from where he was sitting on one of the Asgard supply crates, leaning against the wall. SG-1 had sorted out the supplies they had with them. The others had eaten, and Daniel had taken more Tylenol, chasing it down with a few sips of water. They were now waiting for Thor's verdict on his scanning of Tubris. The Jaffa stayed put. Thor had been nothing but diligent, and Daniel guessed that if the Asgard had screwed this up themselves, Thor would want to fix whatever had gone wrong so that the Tuberous fell under the protection of the Protected Planets Treaty again and could stop hiding. The only problem, when and if they found the Tuberous, was that Anubis was getting more and more powerful as each day went and was conquering bigger and bigger parts of the galaxy. SG-1 and Thor alone could do very little against that. Plus, Daniel thought, mentally kicking himself, he hadn't found the Lost City yet, and they really needed to find that – and soon.

"I shall attempt another surface scan," Thor said. "I initially looked only for life-signs when I scanned this planet, and that is what I have been focusing my attention on up to this point."

"You're looking for anomalies within the planet itself?" Sam asked. She had eagerly watched as Thor had worked.

"Yes," Thor agreed.

As the others worked, Jack focused his attention on Daniel who was looking increasingly pale where he had sat with closed eyes for the last ten minutes, clutching his stomach, both arms wrapped tight around his middle, head hanging low. Jack sat down beside Daniel and touched his shoulder. "Hey, how are you doing?"

Daniel opened his eyes. "Hey." He lifted his head a little, looking at Jack. "I'm okay. I think the pain-killer finally is kicking in."

"Good," Jack nodded. "But," Jack continued. There's always a but.

"The cramps are better but I'm getting really sleepy," Daniel said.

"I know. Compazine packs quite the punch. Why don't you sleep for a while then?"

"Yeah," Daniel closed his eyes again and leaned back against the wall.

"Guys," Sam said, forcing Daniel to open his eyes again. Had they finally found something?

"What've you got?" Jack eagerly asked, quickly walking over to where Teal'c was standing with Thor and Sam, studying the screens. Daniel straightened his long legs and stood up, walking towards them as well, the medication making his movements even slower and more deliberate than him feeling rotten did. Daniel thought it took him forever to walk the short distance from the crates to the others.

"Nothing," Thor said. "But we have figured out why I cannot find any sign of the Tuberous. I believe that these people have managed to develop technologies that blocks most of our scanners yet allows us to search for life-signs. If they believe we are responsible for their destruction, they might not want the Asgard to find them again." Thor looked at Daniel. "I am sorry, Dr. Jackson. I know how much you wanted to find them."

"But," Sam said before Daniel could say anything. She wanted to wipe the disappointed look of his fevered face away as fast as possible. "There's some good news."

"What?" Daniel asked tiredly.

"They were thinking of building spaceships. Jama said as much, remember. Now that we know what kind of technology they have, Thor can look for them with the long range sensors on this ship."

"Do it," Jack ordered. "Daniel, you're about to fall flat on your face. Thor, do you have something even remotely looking like a bed here?" Jack's patience was starting to wear pretty thin, and he was frustrated with the persistent Jaffa. It was clear they were waiting for something, but for how long were they going to wait? He had a sick teammate to send home, damn it! Despite the Tylenol, Daniel was running a fever and he was still in pain. He needed to lie down and get some proper rest. Cursing Thor's hand-me-down ship and the fact that they were too far from Earth to beam him into the infirmary, Jack decided they had to do as best as they could with what they'd got.

"There are sleeping compartments within this ship, but I do not believe they would fit a human of Dr. Jackson's size," said Thor.

"Not if all you've got are those pod-like things," Jack agreed.

"I'll just sleep here," Daniel said. Taking the emergency blanket from his vest pocket he wrapped it around himself and sat down on top of the crate again.

"No, we'll figure something out. Can't you make something soft for him to lie on?" Sam asked, watching as Daniel tried to find a comfortable position on the crate. They'd checked the crates once they boarded the ship but there was nothing in them SG-1 could use either to help Daniel or fight the Jaffa guarding Tubris' Gate.

"Yes, I believe that would be possible. Dr. Jackson, if you would stand over here I will scan your body and synthesise a sleeping pallet," Thor said, indicating a raised platform to the side of his consoles.

Doing as asked, Daniel put the blanket down and walked over to the platform Thor indicated. A beam scanned him and then Thor motioned for him to step down. A few moments later a mushy pallet appeared in a corner of the room, a little ways from where the supplies and Thor's consoles were.

"Thanks," Daniel said, trying to not let on how tired and achy he really was. Feeling the surface of the bed-like thing, he found it to be slightly yielding and soft. It looked precisely long enough for him and gratefully he sat down, feeling his body gently being enveloped by the substance the bed was made of, but not so much so that he couldn't easily get up if he wanted. "This thing is amazing, Thor."

"I am glad you approve."

"Lemme see," Jack said, coming over to look at the bed, Sam and Teal'c following on his heels. "Cool!"

"I wonder what it's made of," Sam mused.

"It does indeed look comfortable," Teal'c added.

Putting the blanket aside, Daniel unzipped his vest and jacket and curled up on the pallet. Sam spread the blanket over him and squeezed his shoulder. Feeling the heat coming of his body, she moved her hand to his forehead.

Daniel was extremely grateful to lie down. "Don't fall asleep yet, I want to take your temperature," Sam continued. Walking over to their supplies she found the med kit and took the thermometer out. "It's not very high, just 100.7. We'll keep an eye on it. How's your stomach?"

"It's a little better. The cramps aren't so bad."

"Good. Try to sleep. We'll be over there if you need anything. Thor's going to leave Tubris' orbit in order to scan this part of the galaxy."

"I will."

Daniel closed his eyes and Sam stroked her hand through his hair, watching as he fell asleep.

 

&&&&&

 

After Thor had moved the ship away from Tubris' orbit and started the scan, several ships appeared on their sensor, one of which was a different Goa'uld Ha'tak vessel than one of those that previously had sent Jaffa down to Tubris. Jack was about to wake Daniel when that appeared, in case they had to fight or flee, but the ship didn't pay them any attention and flew past. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jack let his hand hover over Daniel's shoulder for another moment, then quietly walked away. However, he was disappointed to learn that although the ship didn't pay them any attention, it had placed several more Jaffa on Tubris and thus diminished Daniel's chance of going home in the immediate future even longer.

Another cargo ship hailed Thor sometime later, but the Jaffa aboard that ship hadn't heard of the Tuberous and had no information about the Jaffa on the planet. They were grateful to see Teal'c, however, and promised that they would be on the look-out.

"That was close," Jack muttered.

Another hour passed without Thor detecting anything, when suddenly a ship that had the same energy signature as the technology on Tubris appeared on the screen but not on the sensors. "I believe we have found them," Thor said.

"So they did manage to build those ships after all. I'll wake Daniel," Jack said, walking over to where the sleeping man lay on his back, a fist clutching in the blanket and the other hand resting over his eyes. Thinking for a moment, Jack wavered in his decision about waking Daniel. On one hand, Daniel was too sick at the moment to be of much help, but on the other, no one could broach a difficult negotiation like him. He wasn't too happy about it, but this was a situation where they needed Daniel's special abilities. After thinking back and forth for a while, Jack decided that since they were stuck here for the time being, Daniel could decide for himself what he felt up to. Jack and the others would be there to stop him if he went too far. Daniel wasn't in any life-threatening condition, and although he was sick and needed rest more than anything, Jack also knew that if he didn't wake him, Daniel would give him an earful for not even asking. Jack could live with that; he was in command and had to make tough decisions, but waking Daniel for a chat with someone wouldn't further deteriorate his condition. Shaking Daniel's shoulder lightly, Jack called his name. "Daniel, wake up. We've found them."

"Huh?" Daniel asked dazed, still not fully awake, taking the arm away from over his eyes.

"Thought you wanted to be there for the meet and greet," Jack said, shaking Daniel a little more. "How are you feeling?"

"'M okay," Daniel sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Yeah? Stomach still hurt?"

Daniel nodded, shivering a little as the cool air hit his bare arms.

Jack put his hand to Daniel's forehead. "Fever's the same. You up to joining us?"

"I assume the Jaffa are still around?" Daniel asked.

Jack nodded. "'Fraid so. I've no idea what they're doing, but they show no signs of leaving. Teal'c wants to go down there and make them leave, but I said no."

Daniel nodded, understanding Jack's reasoning. It wouldn't make it possible for Daniel to go home sooner if he endangered one life to save another. To beam down to the planet would also give away their presence, and no one wanted that. Teal'c was just frustrated that he couldn't do anything to speed things up from aboard the ship. Daniel appreciated the thought. To Jack he said, "Okay, give me a sec. I've got to pee first."

"Sure," Jack said, helping Daniel to his feet. "Thor?" he called. "Got any facilities around here?"

Thor just blinked at them.

"Bathroom," Daniel clarified.

"Ah, yes. It is in the compartment behind you."

While they waited for Daniel to finish in the bathroom, Jack walked back to the others.

"Why haven't they fled?" Sam asked. "If they're hiding from both you and Anubis, they should have gone by now."

"Perhaps they do not recognise us," Thor suggested.

"We should attempt to contact them. Perhaps their vessel is damaged and their sensors are down?" Teal'c said.

"That is likely." Thor moved some of the controls around on his console and a face appeared on the screen.

"Greetings," Thor said just as Daniel came back into the room. "I am Thor, Supreme Commander of the Asgard fleet."

At Thor's hail, the man looked positively shocked. "Please," he begged, "do not harm us. Our ship is damaged and we have no means of escape."

"Who are you?" Jack asked.

"I am Tallis," the man said. "Why have you come here?"

"We've come looking for you," Daniel said, putting his glasses back on, smiling at the man appearing on the screen, swallowing down a wave of nausea as he did so.

"You know who we are?" Tallis asked. He, like Jama, had brown curly hair and black eyes. His clothing appeared to be of fine-spun linen and his robe reminded Jack of Daniel's Abydonian robes. This had to be the Tuberous. He was definitely older than Jama as his face was somewhat wrinkled and his hair was grey here and there.

"Yes," Daniel said. "At least we think we do. You are of the Tuberous, are you not?"

Tallis nodded, too stunned to speak. "You, however, are not. You are human, but I have not encountered your kind before. Who are you?"

"We're from a planet called Earth," Daniel explained, launching into his usual first contact litany. "I'm Daniel Jackson."

"You ally yourself with the Asgard," Tallis accused. "We cannot trust you."

"I think you can," Jack said. "See, the Asgard here has helped us on many occasions and we figured they could help you as well."

"He is correct," Thor said. "The Tau'ri have been our allies for some time now. We too have been looking for you."

"But you abandoned us!" Tallis said. "I can't trust anything you say."

Daniel moved to the front of the communications console, blocking Thor from Tallis' view. "You can trust us. We know what happened to your people. It wasn't the Asgard's fault. You lost contact with each other, that's all. Thor wants to help. Why don't you come over here so we can talk about what we can do to help? We mean no harm to you or your people."

"No!" Tallis exclaimed. "I will not be a prisoner of your ship."

"Oy," Jack quietly commented. Loud enough for all to hear he said, "Listen, your ship is damaged. I don't know what's wrong, but Carter here is a brilliant scientist. Perhaps she can help figure it out? And Teal'c here knows a thing or two about Goa'uld technology that might come in handy, plus Thor here knows about all things Asgard and Ancient. We'd like to help, but for that to happen we need to talk to you first."

"We would like to get to know you better, understand more of who you are, of your history," Daniel said. "We have been looking for you and are pleased to finally have met you." The nausea was starting to come back for real now and he was getting a little dizzy. Leaning on the console behind him, Daniel turned to Thor, "I think we have to go about this some other way. Can you beam us aboard his ship?"

"Yes, but why?" Thor asked.

"It's obvious that he's scared by the very fact that you're Asgard and that is preventing him from thinking clearly. Perhaps if we went over there and talked to him ourselves he might be more susceptible to help. He'll be on familiar ground and has nothing to lose. If he comes here, he's on enemy's territory as far as he is concerned. He's not so desperate that he'll do that. Jack, what do you think?"

"I'd really like a closer look at their technology," Sam added before Jack could answer. "Sir?

"Yeah, you're both right. I'd say we go if he wants to have us. There is however one tiny snag. If Thor can't see them on the sensors, how can he beam us aboard? And if they can't see Thor's ship on their sensors, either because the sensors are damaged or because they just can't, how can we get back? We need a way out if this gets squirrely. Do you have any other means of transportation than the beam that we can use?"

"I do not," Thor shook his head.

"Okay, so it's that or nothing," Jack said, thinking for a while. "You're sure this is worth it, Daniel, Carter?" They both nodded. "T?"

"I believe we should attempt to assist these people," Teal'c said.

"What if the ship that sent the Jaffa to guard the 'Gate detects our presence when we beam aboard?" Daniel asked. "Won't they come after us?"

Teal'c shrugged. "I do not know. I have no means of knowing their purpose when I cannot speak to them."

"We're willing to take that risk," Jack said. "Thor can jump to hyperspace as soon as we're gone if he detects any danger."

"But that'll leave you virtually open to attack!" Daniel argued.

"He's right, sir," Sam said.

"Okay. Let's talk to the guy again first," Jack said. "Then we'll decide. You're on, Daniel."

"Tallis? Are you still there?" Daniel asked. While the link remained active the man had disappeared from their screen as they discussed what to do, probably discussing his options with his own people, Daniel guessed.

"I am."

"Good. I have a proposition for you, but it requires that we trust each other." Daniel looked at him with his most innocent expression.

"What is it?" Tallis looked almost desperate. Perhaps this wouldn't be as difficult as they first thought, Daniel mused.

"What if we came over to your ship to discuss what we can do to help? Major Carter and Teal'c can have a look at your technology and see if it is anything we can fix. That way we won't have to involve the Asgard if you don't want to." Daniel shot Thor an apologetic look. Thor nodded in acquiescence. "If we are to do that, you have to promise to not harm us. Thor here can beam us out if you as much as threaten us, just so that we're clear." Daniel turned to Jack. "Anything else?"

Jack shook his head. "No, that's fine."

When Tallis didn't immediately answer, Daniel added. "Why don't we give you some time to think it over? When you're ready, just give us a call."

"Thank you," Tallis said and disappeared from the screen. Thor shut down the communicator.

"Now what," Jack asked.

"Now we wait. I just hope he agrees to our terms," Daniel said. At that moment something on Thor's consoles beeped, and they all turned to Thor.

"The Jaffa have left," Thor said. "I cannot detect their life-signs any longer."

"Okay, that's it," Jack said, relieved that Daniel would finally be able to return home. "Let's go. Carter, you stay here with Thor in case Tallis contacts us again before we return. Teal'c, you and I are going to escort Daniel back home."

"Yes, sir," Sam said. "Get well soon, Daniel."

"Thanks, Sam." Daniel returned her brief hug and walked over to the bed again to retrieve his jacket and vest. Teal'c stopped him as he was about to pick up his pack.

"We might need that glowy thing later," Jack said.

"It might prove useful in negotiation," Teal'c elaborated.

"Okay," Daniel nodded. "The tablet is in there too. Oh, and Jack, don't be so difficult, okay?"

"I'm not difficult," Jack protested.

"Just… be nice," Daniel said. "I really wish I could do this with you, but since I have a date with a bed and a certain doctor, I trust you to not make enemies of these people."

"Daniel! I wouldn't," Jack argued.

"No, not intentionally," Daniel said, knowing that Jack would be on high alert and that he was not good at sitting still for any length of time. "Look, I know negotiation isn't your thing, but don't aggravate them further than you need to, okay? That's all I'm asking. Let Sam or Teal'c do the talking if you get too angry."

Jack sighed. Daniel was right, of course. Jack had handled his share of negotiations over the years, but unlike Daniel, he didn't have the patience and mastery of words that were necessary if the negotiation got tricky. It was always difficult doing the first dealings with a new potential ally and Jack knew that Daniel was far better than he was at that sort of thing. But Jack had his spidey sense, and that never failed him. Jack knew that if he didn't keep his wits about him, he could make enemies of everyone and everything. "I'll be good, promise."

"Good," Daniel nodded. "I trust you." Turning to Sam and Jack he said, "Keep an eye out for him, will you?"

"Always," Sam smiled.

Teal'c bowed his head. "We will do our best."

Jack accepted a communicator from Thor.

"I will stand by to beam you back aboard when you are ready," Thor said. To Daniel he said, "May you recover swiftly."

"Thank you."

"We're ready," Jack called a moment later, he and Teal'c taking up protective positions on either side of Daniel, weapons raised, just in case. "Beam us down." A moment later they were on the sandy banks of Tubris, the Stargate a few yards in front of them, the coast clear. Teal'c started to dial and Jack punched in their IDC. The wormhole engaged and Jack motioned for Daniel to get ready to start walking up the steps.

"Teal'c should go with you," Jack said, indicating for Teal'c to join Daniel.

"Jack, you need Teal'c here. I think I'm capable of walking through the Gate by myself," Daniel argued.

"I will happily accompany you if you wish," Teal'c said.

"I suppose it's safe," Jack said after thinking for a moment. "T, I could use your input on this."

"Very well, I will remain. I wish you a speedy recovery, DanielJackson," Teal'c said, bowing slightly and stepping back to stand beside Jack by the DHD. "We will see you soon."

"Thanks. See you later," Daniel said and started to walk up the steps.

"General?" Jack called once the MALP came online. "Daniel's returning. The rest of us are going back to join Thor. We got in touch with the Tuberous and we're planning a negotiation."

"Very well. Dr. Jackson has returned safely," Hammond's voice came over the MALP's speaker. "Stay in touch."

"We will. Make sure Fraiser takes good care of him, O'Neill out." Jack ended the transmission and the 'Gate shut down.

 

&&&&&

 

"He's hailing us again," Thor said a few minutes after Teal'c and Jack returned.

"Colonel O'Neill," Tallis greeted. "We agree to your terms for negotiations. You may enter our vessel."

"Nice," Jack drawled. "Thor, beam us outta here."


	9. Chapter 9

PART NINE

 

The Tuberous' ship was nothing like Jack ever had seen before. From the outside it looked like a large round disc. On the inside it was still round in structure and to Jack it looked like there was not a single straight line or straight angle anywhere. Thor had beamed them aboard the bridge where Tallis waited for them, and they were now walking along wide, spacious corridors. The walls were a made of material that seemed to glow by itself, the colours a mixture of dark green, bright purple and light blue, and here and there control panels could be seen along the walls. The entire ship looked like one giant room, only divided into sections with room dividers like an open office landscape. Cold, fluorescent light even hung from the ceiling. Jack couldn't help but think of it looking somewhat like a mixture of Chancellor Travell's office on Tollana and a lab, very unlike the earthy tones of the robes the people wore.

Like Jama, Tallis and the rest of the population they met on their way from the bridge to wherever they were going to sit down to talk were small, making Jack feel like a giant compared to them. From what they'd seen on Thor's screens the ship was enormous and could very well house a large population, but not as much as the tens of thousands the city at Tuberous appeared to be able to hold. The vast room they were walking through appeared to have several purposes and looked to be command centre and general administration space as well as some sort of machine room. A great deal of equipment that looked like the blown up machinery on Tuberous that Jama had showed them was gathered in one corner of the room and many people were milling around it apparently trying to fix it.

"Dr. Jackson did not join you?" Tallis asked, puzzled, visibly counting the number of his guests as they exited the bridge.

"I'm afraid an urgent matter required his presence back at out planet," Jack said, not wanting to go into more detail about Daniel's absence.

"I see," Tallis said, also not commenting further. Jack thought it looked like he didn't care.

The people they passed in the hallways looked up as SG-1 walked past them, nodded in greeting at Tallis and turned back to their work. As they walked Jack commented on this to Tallis. "They don't look surprised to see strangers. I guess they don't know we're allied with the Asgard?"

"No, I have not told them. There is no need to at this initial point of contact. But be advised, not everyone among my people are as willing to listen to your tale as I am. We are desperate, however, and in dire need of assistance. Had it not been so, I would not have allowed you on board."

"We understand that," Sam said, smiling to a young girl who passed by them in. "Do you often get visitors from other planets?" she asked, nodding in greeting to those who craned their necks to look up at her.

"It happens. We trade," Tallis answered noncommittally. The desperate, almost eager look from their initial conversation was completely gone and all Jack could sense was a stone-faced, yet not completely inhumane leader as he nodded back at the people they passed, smiling at some, sharing a word or two with others.

"Yes, of course," Sam said, thinking about the potential allies and friends these people might have made over the centuries. Perhaps they had some friends in common. "How long have you lived aboard this ship?"

"How do you reckon time?" Tallis asked. Sam explained.

Stopping by one of the people standing at one of the consoles Tallis had the man figure out the differences in the days and years. "Our years are somewhat longer than yours. We have lived on this ship for almost 200 of your years."

That's just a little less time than Jama's been on Tuberous, Sam thought, turning her attention back to Tallis. "Why have you lived here so long?"

"We tried to make a living on Tubris again after Tuberous was destroyed, but we were found when, after a long while being safe, our people thought we were saved and started to venture out of hiding. There are enormous underground caves on Tubris, built by our forefathers in ancient times, big enough to build a ship in. We managed to build this vessel in secrecy and fled here. For a time we lived peacefully in the caves, our sensors blocking any attempt at finding us by scanning the planet's surface. Eventually the ship was ready. We moved here and have since lived on this ship travelling the galaxy, looking for a planet to live on that is both large enough for our population and far outside Anubis' reach."

"That explains how we thought you must have been able to hide while living on Tubris, and also why you have this ship," Jack said. "Thor scanned the surface of the planet but couldn't find the caves, and the ruins look too old for anyone to have inhabited them for a very long time."

"Indeed," Tallis said. "They suited our purpose very well."

"How old are they?" Sam asked.

"The oldest parts are many thousands of years old."

"It must have been hard, living like nomads like that. Have you found any suitable planets where you can settle down?"

"Not yet. We encountered a peculiar population which had the ability to scan hundreds if not thousands of planets to see if they fit our criteria but they were not able to help us."

"The Gadmeer," Teal'c guessed.

"Indeed. You have encountered them?"

"Yes, some years ago. We have not kept in contact since."

"We also do not have the proper defences to keep an entire planet hidden from Anubis' sight. His technology is much more advanced than ours."

"But you're able to hide your ship?" Sam asked.

Tallis nodded. "We have been, up till now, but our systems are failing. We had to finish some of the latest adjustments in haste as we were detected, and we are now paying for it with our sensors being down. If Anubis comes here we're as good as dead."

"So you don't know about the Jaffa that just left your planet?"

"I do not," Tallis said, for a moment sounding both afraid and nervous before he composed himself again. "We are not allied with the Jaffa. Anubis must have learned of our location!"

"They're gone now," Sam said.

"I only hope they did not detect us," Tallis muttered.

"If they had, he would have contacted you or destroyed your ship," Teal'c said. Tallis paled a little at that, and Jack raised his eyebrow.

"Did you really have to tell him that?" Jack asked. "Can't you see these people are scared?"

"Indeed, but they also need to learn the truth."

"I appreciate your candidness," Tallis said, earning a bow from Teal'c. "Let's continue."

"Perhaps the Asgard can help making the cloaking of your ship more permanent. They are very advanced," Sam suggested after they'd walked a little ways further.

"Why don't you and Teal'c go check out what you can do to help now, while I continue to talk to these fine folks?" Jack said.

"Please," Tallis said, the desperation coming back into his voice. Hailing one of the scientists working at one of the work benches close to where they had stopped up, he gestured for the woman to show Teal'c and Sam to the engine room.

"Keep in contact," Jack ordered.

"We will, sir," Sam said, almost bouncing as she followed the Tuberous scientist towards the damaged equipment in the far corner of the gigantic room.

 

&&&&&

 

"Dr. Jackson, welcome back," General Hammond said, holding out a hand to stop Daniel from falling face-first down the ramp. "Dr. Fraiser is on her way."

Glad he'd made it home, Daniel nodded, and focusing his attention on breathing through the pain that now was assailing him with new force. The Tylenol and Compazine he'd taken earlier were not working anymore, and he feared they wouldn't even put a dent into how he was feeling if he took any now. "I'm sorry to return like this," he said once the pain seemed to get a little easier.

"Nonsense," Hammond said. "Dr. Fraiser informed me of your condition and I'd consider it irresponsible for you to stay behind feeling like this."

"Thank you, sir," Daniel slumped as he was steered towards the gurney the medics were just rolling into the Gateroom.

"Feel better soon," Hammond said, worriedly watching as Daniel wobbled over to the gurney and handled by the medics without protest.

"Thanks," Daniel answered as he let himself be loaded onto the gurney. Usually he'd say that he was more than capable of walking and could get to the infirmary on his own. As it is he wasn't capable, he was tired and sore and achy and the short walk up the stairs to the Stargate on Tubris and down the ramp Earth had drained him further. Nope, lying down was good. It was in fact very good. Being honest, Daniel didn't think he'd manage the walk from the Gateroom to the infirmary in the condition he was in now. Thankful for the ride he closed his eyes and let the medics do all the work.

 

&&&&&

 

After walking for a few more minutes, Tallis stopped at an enclosure that was a little more private than the rest of the office-like area. "We may talk here," he said, opening the glass door to a room with a table surrounded by many chairs. Two others were already seated at the table and they now rose to bow in greeting, introducing themselves as Amma and Cully. They were also wearing robes almost identical to Tallis'.

"Thank you," Jack said accepting the offer of a seat. He wasn't sure he would be able to manage a long session without Daniel's help, but he'd try. Furtively glancing at his watch, he saw it was past 1800, which meant they'd been off-world for eleven hours. Hoping Daniel was safe in Janet's clutches by now, Jack focused his attention on the meeting.

When they all were seated and someone had brought some sort of refreshment that looked like bread and a minty-smelling tea, Tallis got down to business, asking the obvious questions about who SG-1 was, about Earth and their relationship with the Asgard. Jack played with his bread while he explained in vague terms about how they'd come in contact with Thor and his race and how the Asgard had helped them on numerous occasions and also how Earth had become a part of the Asgards' protected planets treaty, completely omitting the library they'd found on P3R-272 all those years ago. It wasn't necessary for these people to know there was a database of Ancient knowledge out there, especially if their brains were more advanced than those of… less advanced humans, Jack thought, grimacing at his choice of words.

"Have you never encountered the Asgard while travelling the galaxy?" Jack asked after Tallis had got his initial questions answered and they'd all tasted the food and drink set out before them.

"We have not," Tallis said somewhat shortly, his earlier exuberance and almost joyfulness completely gone, his mood clearly shifting as the topic of conversation changed. Jack stopped playing with his food and Tallis seemed to calm down a little.

Ah. "You mean your ship can't detect them, just like they can't see you," Jack said. "How about Anubis? Have you seen him around or can't you see him either?"

"As I have said, Anubis has technology that by far surpasses our own. We do not have sensors that allow us to see whomever we want yet remain cloaked to everyone else. Which begs the question: How did you find us?" Tallis asked, looking curiously at Jack.

"Thor traced the technology your ship is made of." Jack explained as best he could about the destroyed machinery they'd found on Tuberous and how it was possible to track it. "I'm afraid it's all very technical. Major Carter can explain this much better than what I'm capable of. We've learned a lot from the Asgard. Our own ship is not advanced enough to do that kind of advanced tracking."

"Still, it amazes me that this Thor is able to do so when he can't detect us by more regular means," Tallis said, looking a little awed at Jack's explanation before continuing. "Your story is very interesting. If what you say is true, perhaps it would be of some benefit to talk to this Thor? It is clear we could learn a lot from him and his people."

"That's a good idea. They had no intention of removing you from the Protected Planets Treaty, nor destroying you, for that matter." Jack agreed, thinking about the cylindrical device in Daniel's pack, hoping it was the clue to saving these people.

"That is comforting news. We have been wondering what made us fall out with them, but this too is a long time ago and before my time. We tried contacting them, but the Conference Room has not been functioning for many years. Our experts on ancient history has come to the conclusion that there is a part missing."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"There was a temple on Tubris that had a communications platform where we could contact the Asgard. A projection would appear and we could seek their counsel. When we came back from Tuberous it was destroyed. We called it the Conference Room. However, another crucial piece of technology was also destroyed and a part of that has been missing for centuries. We lost the Circulus," Tallis said, sounding like a child who just had lost their favourite toy.

"What does this Circulus look like?" Jack asked, his heart beating faster. It was as Daniel had guessed earlier. The cylinder was a part of a crucial device.

"It is a long, round object with writing on it. I have not seen it myself except in drawings, as it was lost before my time."

"Could it have been lost on Tubris the first time you fled?"

"Yes, this is likely. We had no means to contact the Asgard when we lived on Tuberous, and it has been assumed that the Circulus was buried in the ruins, yet it has not been found."

"We found this," Jack said, taking the cylinder out of Daniel's pack and putting it on the table. "It was found on a deserted planet that we have designated P1N-552 but which we later learned was your planet, Tubris. Dr. Jackson could explain it better as he is the one who translated it," Jack said, trying to be as scientific as he could. He'd listened to Carter and Daniel present things so many times that it was easier than he thought. "If I remember Dr. Jackson's translation correctly it is a warning that says only those who are worthy will learn the secret. I assume this secret relates to the gene you possess and what you are able to do with it and possibly also a means for you to hide from Anubis more permanently?"

Amazed, Tallis only nodded and took the cylinder in his hands, looking at it from all angles before handing it back. "This is very old. It is the Circulus. Where did you find it?"

"One of our teams found it when they first visited Tubris on a reconnaissance mission. They brought it back with them for study. It was lying abandoned in the sand, something we thought odd as the rest of Trusla looked completely deserted," Jack said, trying his best to remember what Daniel had written in his report and talked about during their briefing. "We have since guessed that a man we met might have placed it there or lost it when visiting, but if you think it was lost even before your time, that's not possible."

"You met someone? Who?"

"His name is Jama." Jack said, looking closely at Tallis to gauge his reaction.

Tallis shook his head appearing genuinely puzzled. "I am sorry. I have not heard of him. Who is he?"

"He's an historian," Jack said tentatively, not wanting to give away too much before he knew if they could trust Tallis or not.

"Really? I have never heard of him. Amma, would you search the records and see if you can find any information about him?" Tallis asked, nodding to the woman seated to his left. She rose and went to the computer at the back of the secluded area where they sat.

"Did you meet him on Tubris?" Tallis asked while Amma worked.

"No," Jack answered noncommittally.

"Then where?"

"On Tuberous."

"But there was no one there! We didn't leave anyone behind. We made sure of that."

"He wasn't left behind, not like that. At least, that's not what he told us."

"Then what?" Tallis asked, looking at Amma to see if she was finished with searching the database.

"You're sure you don't know that there is at least one of your own people out there, not living here amongst you? You have a very long lifespan; isn't someone missing him?" Jack asked, surprised.

"I assure you, this is previously unknown to me. Amma? Have you found anything?" Tallis more commanded than asked. Jack hoped for Amma's sake that she did find something. Tallis didn't seem like the most forgiving type.

"Yes," Amma said, printing some files and handing them to Tallis. "His existence is recorded in our files."

"Why don't you read what the files say?" Jack asked, getting tired of all of Tallis' questions and wanting him to tell them what history said about Jama. If Daniel had been here, he'd ask him to read them, but as it is, he had to trust what Tallis told him. If he lied about what they said, Jack would have no way of proving him wrong.

Tallis started reading but after a moment he spoke up. "Now I remember—I knew of him, but I had forgotten his name. This is all a ploy on behalf of Jama to get sanctuary among us again. This will not be tolerated!" Tallis rose from his chair, shaking an accusing finger in Jack's face.

"What on earth made you draw that conclusion?" Jack asked, getting angry himself. "We've been upfront the entire time we've been here. I think you are misunderstanding our intentions on purpose. We didn't do this. You condemned him to that planet to live his life there alone. We can't be blamed for your past actions. He found us, not the other way around."

"He didn't lead you here?" Tallis asked, confused.

"No, the Circulus did. Plus another artifact we found. Dr. Jackson was also able to read the murals on the wall where the Circulus is meant to be placed. We figured it out ourselves."

"Yes, about the Circulus. It is active. You cannot have done this by yourselves," Tallis said.

"No, we didn't." Jack's anger was starting to cloud his judgment, and he was getting tired of all this talking back and forth, feeling like he was treading water. This negotiation was progressing much too slowly for his liking, especially now that he didn't have Daniel here to help him out and explain things. What if he picked up a signal and misjudged it and made an enemy of these people? He hoped he wouldn't, but if this continued much longer, Jack was not sure how much more he could take. Years of working with Daniel had made him pick up on a thing or two that could be helpful if he started to lose his temper. Biting back his frustration, he continued in a calm voice, "Jama activated it."

"You trusted this man to activate this device! I assume he told you his tale?" Tallis accused. "You fell for his plea for freedom and brought him with you to Tubris."

"Yes," Jack admitted. "But we did it in good faith. He said it was not emitting any signals and our scanners confirmed it."

"Actually," Sam interrupted, to Jack's joy suddenly standing in the doorway. "Sorry for the interruption, sir, but the damage to the ship is way beyond us. We need Thor's help on this."

Yess! Jack thought, mentally pumping his fists in the air, happy to finally receive some help. "What took you so long?"

"We wanted to be sure there was nothing we could do," Teal'c said.

"Enter," Tallis said, indicating for Teal'c and Sam to sit down and join in the conversation.

"My scanners didn't really confirm anything about the cylinder, but it didn't show anything either," Sam continued after she'd sat down opposite Jack.

"Carter?" Jack said, looking confused.

"Jama could have lied to us if he wanted, sir. I wouldn't have been able say either way before it was too late. The scanners we have did not show signals in any form we've encountered before, but that doesn't mean that there weren't any. We just didn't get any readings."

"So now you're saying that perhaps we trusted the wrong guy?"

Sam shrugged. "It's impossible to say."

"What do you know about what the Circulus is emitting or not?" Jack asked Tallis. "Are you keeping track of the activity on both Tubris and Tuberous and have some means to know when the technology you left behind is being used? Did you know it was there after all?"

"Yes, we do indeed have tracking devices that alert us to any activity that involves the old ruins in Trusla. We knew there was some activity there in recent days, which is why we came to investigate. When we saw you were there from within the ruins, we also saw that Jama had come back to Tubris as well. We came to once again evict him to Tuberous."

"So, you were on the planet at the same time as we were! Was it you who hid the crevice where the cylinder was supposed to fit?" Jack asked, getting angry again. They had assumed Jama had done that but didn't have any proof.

"Yes," Tallis answered simply. "Had we known they were monitoring Tubris as well, we would have sent you through the Stargate back to Tuberous."

"You do know the Stargate goes other than Tubris and Tuberous?" Sam asked.

"It does?" Tallis asked curiously. "It is not a portal limited to Tuberous and Tubris alone?"

"No, it is how we travel across the galaxy." Sam said, explaining in general terms about the Gate and how it functioned. "Jama didn't know this either. Have you not tried to press other combinations of symbols?"

"I personally have not, but I'm sure some of my people have. Yet, no one came through the Stargate to either planet while we resided there, so if my people tried connecting with other worlds that way, they didn't succeed. The Stargate has always been on both Tuberous and Tubris, yet I do not recall any historical document explaining exactly how it got there. We buried it when we came to Tuberous and only unburied it when we had the need to flee back to Tubris. When we built the ship we had no need of the Stargate. This is indeed thought-provoking news," Tallis said. "I assume you know how to work the Stargate?"

"Yes. And when we come to an agreement, we can show you planets to go to that we believe would be safe for your people," Sam said.

Jack frowned at her. "Not so fast," he whispered, feeling that Tallis had yet to show something to offer in return for their help.

Sam shook her head. "It's only a matter of time before they figure it out themselves, sir."

Jack sighed.

"That would be very helpful," Tallis said, ignoring the whispered conversation. After thinking a little he continued, sounding sceptical. "However, this could all be a ploy to destroy us."

"Why do you figure that?" Jack asked. "Why would we come here and negotiate with you just to later destroy you? Haven't you believed anything we've said up to this point?"

Tallis shrugged, having calmed down some. "You brought our biggest enemy aside from Anubis here and claim you are their allies. You say they want to help but so far all you say is that our technology is beyond your supposed genius and that we should trust in Thor. Also, you consort with one of our history's worst criminals and allow him to aid you in contacting us. Why would we want to ally ourselves with the likes of you?"

"Oh, I don't know," Jack drawled, feeling close to exploding, "because we're nice people who just want to help you out of the goodness of our hearts!" He got to his feet. "But sure, if you don't want our help, it's no biggie. I for one thought we were making good progress here, but sure, we can just leave, taking the Asgard and their help with us, of course."

"Please excuse Tallis' temperament. Is it true that the Asgard have been looking out for us all these years?" Cully suddenly asked. "They want to protect us?"

"Yeah, they do. They're not too happy with having Anubis around, either."

"But Anubis is growing more and more powerful. How can we stop hiding from such and advanced enemy?" Cully asked almost desperately, repeating Tallis' initial plea.

"The Asgard are more advanced than Anubis is. I'm sure there is a way," Jack said confidently.

"Maybe we weren't so clear earlier," Sam said. "Anubis experimented on your people. This is why you developed that special gene of yours that makes it possible for you to move things or make things with your mind. He wanted to use you as future Goa'uld hosts."

"How?" Cully asked.

"He's obviously been following your development since you lost contact with the Asgard after that first time you fled. They too have been watching you, wanting to come in contact with you again so you could get back under their protection. If you don't believe me, ask Thor yourself."

"I think we shall," Tallis agreed, all scepticism gone from his voice.

"I'll contact him." Sam nodded. She was getting the Asgard communicator out and attempting to contact Thor before Jack even had given her the go-ahead.

"Carter?" Jack said impatiently when no beam immediately transported them back onto Thor's ship.

"I don't know, sir. Perhaps there's something blocking the signal? We should try from the bridge."

"Yeah, let's go." Jack picked up Daniel's pack and with Teal'c taking the lead and Sam bringing up the rear, keying the communicator Thor had given her again before they left asking for immediate extraction.

"Any sign of threat," Jack reminded a surprised Tallis, who stood wringing his hands, not knowing what to do. "That was our terms. Actually, they were Daniel's terms. He's better at this than we are."

"I'm sure there's some way we can help you," Sam said to Tallis.

Cully answered. "We would very much appreciate the help. Tallis, I am taking over the negotiations from here. I am your second in command; you cannot deny me."

"What's going on?" Jack asked.

"He is not well," Cully explained. "His mind is failing him and this frustrates him. He does not have the special gene that many of us do, and this angers him further and cloud his judgement."

"But you do have the gene?" Teal'c asked.

"Yes," Cully said. Jack waited for a smug smile to appear but it didn't. Cully looked earnest and worried about his leader. "I will explain later."

"Gimme that." Jack said indicating the communicator Sam was still holding in her hand after they'd walked a little further and Sam still couldn't get in touch with Thor. "Thor? Come in," Jack called. There was no response. "Tallis, if you want Thor's help, you'd better let Cully come with us." Jack continued to walk towards the bridge, but was stopped at the door as a security force surrounded them, weapons at the ready.

"Let them pass," Tallis said, watching as SG-1 tried to hail Thor. Cully nodded his consent and joined the others, and together they walked towards the ship's bridge.

Jack was still calling Thor when he finally got through. "O'Neill," Thor's voice sounded over the loudspeaker part of the device. "I was just about to contact you again. I am glad to hear your voice. Something has been disrupting my communications attempts. How are the negotiations going?"

"We're ready to return, actually. We're bringing a visitor with us." He quickly explained why Cully would be joining them.

"I have located your whereabouts. One moment, please," Thor said.

"That you have," Jack said waving at Thor's visage on the screen in front of them.

A moment later they were aboard Thor's ship. Cully looked around curiously, appearing amazed.

Sam brought Thor up to speed. "Maybe we should continue this back home? It would probably make the negotiation process go easier. Cully would be on neutral ground and we can check in on Daniel," she continued.

"It's not up to me. I'd more than like to take care of this at home," Jack said. "Cully, you should talk to Tallis and ask if he agrees to this."

"I will contact your ship now," Thor said. A few minutes later, Cully had Tallis' blessing. Teal'c gathered all their things, and Thor beamed everyone down to the 'Gate.

"You ready?" Sam asked. "It is completely safe."

Cully nodded and they stepped through.


	10. Chapter 10

PART TEN

 

Janet Fraiser was prepared. As soon as Daniel was on the gurney, she was at his side.

Daniel curled up as tight as he possibly could, long legs bent almost up to his chest, eyes tightly shut, face red with exertion and pain, arms wrapped around his middle, breathing harshly, now and again inadvertently letting out a low moan.

"Keep me informed," Hammond said as Janet, with the help of two medics, started to wheel Daniel out of the Gateroom.

"Yes, sir," Janet said, already occupied with assessing her patient from what she could see as they moved. As soon as they entered the infirmary, Janet stood out of the way of the medics while they loaded Daniel off the gurney and onto a bed. Taking one of his wrists in her hand, Janet rattled off the symptoms to herself, noticing the hot skin under her fingers, doing an initial triage in her head: Fast breathing, fever and a medium to severe pain level. Janet woefully wished she'd held him back that morning instead of releasing him. She couldn't do anything about that now, though, and she quickly turned her mind to the task at hand.

Quickly, the two medics helped strip him of his vest, gun holster and clothing, pulling the sheet up to his waist. Shutting the drapes as they went, the medics disappeared, only for a nurse to take their place at Janet's side with a hospital gown and an empty chart. "Thanks," Janet said, taking the chart and starting to fill it in while the nurse took Daniel's pressure, pulse and temperature, giving the results aloud to Janet as she worked. "BP 150/102, pulse 95, temp 102.3, respiration 31, VAS 8."

"Hey, Daniel," Janet said when the nurse was done. She leaned over Daniel who had curled up on the bed as the nurse worked, making sure she was in his direct line of vision. "I know you're in pain. Can you tell me how are you feeling?"

"Janet," Daniel said in greeting, not managing to talk much, blinking up at Janet. As the pain for a moment became more bearable, he uncurled a little, realising where he was. He'd worked with the medics and the nurse as they'd done their initial exam, familiar with the procedures and knowing it would only delay his being able to get some rest if he fought them. However, the movement had triggered his nausea again and he was feeling completely exhausted. A shiver ran first down and then up his spine before his stomach started to cramp again. Instinctively knowing what was going to happen, Daniel lunged for the emesis basin standing on the rollaway table by his bed, not caring what it might contain as he quickly turned it upside down sending various items flying. Curling up tighter again, pinning a nurse's hand in the process as she was trying to adjust the sheets, he violently threw up, barely being able to hold onto the basin, gasping in shock when he saw that it wasn't all bile but some blood as well, sobbing with the increased pain.

"Make that VAS 10," Janet muttered to herself as she tried to soothe Daniel through the heaving. Through the haze of pain, fever and nausea, Daniel's mind vaguely registered that Janet had noticed the blood too, as her voice became tight and her words clipped as she talked, rattling off orders to the nurse, her movements a tad more frantic than usual while she took the basin away and wiped his face with a cloth. Drained to the core, Daniel grabbed a pillow from beneath his head and curled up around its softness. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to breathe through the pain, but it was getting harder and harder for each time the cramps increased. Not being able to take it any more, knowing it was okay to let go, he let out a low keen and wrapped himself tighter around the pillow, trying to find distraction in listening to Janet order the nurses to get an IV started and fetch the lab people so they could draw some blood STAT.

Thinking that the small amount of blood Daniel had thrown up was caused by the violent upheaval and not by something being torn inside him, Janet ordered the nurses to watch for more blood if he threw up again and decided to wait to do a gastroscopy. Daniel was in a lot of pain, and since he wasn't injured, the gallstones were a more than likely reason. That meant that with this much pain, Daniel would need some heavy-duty pain relievers and most likely surgery. The gastroscopy could wait till she'd opened him up and seen what was going on.

"Daniel?" Janet sat down on the side of Daniel's bed, rubbing circles on his back as he continued to heave. When it was evident he had nothing more to bring up, and he didn't throw up more blood, she let the nurse start the IV. Waiting a few moments to let the painkillers get a chance to work, Janet once again tried to get Daniel's attention. "How are you doing?"

"Tired," he answered. "Bit nauseous still, and my stomach hurts."

"I bet. I've given you something to help with the nausea as well as the pain," Janet said, smiling encouragingly while watching as Daniel tried to find a comfortable position on the bed, moving her hands from his wrist to his cheek, then his forehead as he moved, feeling the nurse's findings with her own hands as the meds flowed through his veins, making it possible for Daniel to lie more or less straight on the bed and slow his breathing. In Janet's book, when Daniel actually told her how he was feeling, it meant that he was in too much pain to try to fool her, clearly needing the "good stuff." "Is it okay if I take a look?" Janet added when Daniel finally had found a position that wasn't making his aching insides hurt worse or aggravate the still present nausea. Getting a nod of acceptance from Daniel, Janet set to work examining him.

 

&&&&&

 

"Thor, welcome back to Earth," Hammond said in greeting as soon as Jack, Sam and Teal'c and their two guests had walked down the ramp.

"Daniel?" Jack asked once the introductions were made.

"He is in the infirmary, resting comfortably," Hammond said. "Dr. Fraiser is still conducting her exams, but she has given him some strong medication to deal with the pain, and he is currently sleeping. Let's continue this in the briefing room." Hammond motioned for the others to follow him there.

"So that is why Dr. Jackson couldn't join the negotiations?" Cully asked curiously. "He is ill?"

"Yes," Sam nodded. "But he is receiving medical care as we speak. We have one of the best medical facilities on the planet on this base. Our doctors are the best."

Cully nodded. "I am glad he is receiving help. I assume he is not contagious?"

"No, no. Not that we know of," Hammond said.

"What about those scans you mentioned? Could he be harmed by the Circulus?"

"We didn't detect anything, and if there's something in his system, I'm sure our doctors will find it. Not to worry," Sam explained. "From what I can tell, I don't think being around that thing aggravated Daniel's condition any. As I'm sure you know, no one is of exactly the same genetic makeup. Teal'c is Jaffa. I was for a short while a host to a Tok'ra and that left a marker within my blood that makes me less susceptible to alien influences than General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill or Daniel. How are you feeling, sir?"

"Me 'n Daniel 'n General Hammond, we're just humans," Jack said mockingly, putting air quotes around 'just.' "And I feel fine, thanks for asking."

"Teal'c?"

"I am well."

"I am well too," Hammond said, forestalling Sam's inevitable question.

"There is also the fact that Daniel probably was sick before he started to work on the Circulus," Sam continued. "He started showing symptoms the day we started working on it, but he probably had them before that as well."

"What do you mean?" Cully asked.

"Just that I think that the Circulus isn't doing anything harmful to Daniel," Sam tried to explain. She continued to talk about the difference in human makeup for a while, but the glazed over expression in Jack's eyes quickly steered her back on track again.

"Speaking of that device, there is one thing I want to finally get some answers to before we get down to the nitty-gritty of this alliance," Jack said. "What exactly is this Circulus and what does it do?" Taking Daniel's pack, he placed the cylinder on the table between them.

"It cannot be used to contact you," Cully nodded his head at Thor. "It fits into some sort of apparatus in a temple on Trusla. It had to be activated." Thor nodded his agreement.

"It is an ancient thing. It is an object both feared and treasured," Cully continued. "If it became common knowledge that we possess the Circulus once again, a riot like we have never seen before would occur. It was considered lost to us many, many years ago, and because of this fact, our people have lived in peace and harmony, something that is crucial to our very existence, since we have been on the run our entire lives.

"The device itself," he picked the Circulus up and studied it for a moment before putting it back down, "is not the object of desire, but rather the Circulation, which the Circulus opens up when placed into its holder. It was believed that once connected, the Circulation would release a bio-toxin that would start the regress of the development of our special gene. Although you are human, you are not completely like us. It can react to one of our genetic makeup allowing it to be turned on, but as you've seen yourselves it did not react to your presence."

"What is this Circle?" Jack asked.

"The room in which the Circulus is placed. It's where the murals are." Cully said, smiling at Jack before continuing. "The murals tell our history and also what will happen when the Circulation is activated."

"You are saying that we cannot know for sure what this Circulus does unless we return to Tubris?" Thor asked.

"No," Cully said. "The murals tell of a happy people, living in harmony, tending crops and animals without sickness or fear."

"But that place was a ruin when we were there," Jack protested. "Where this thing was supposed to fit, in, ah, the Circle," he waved his hand at the still glowing Circulus on the table, "was somewhat intact, but there was nothing looking even remotely like a weapon or technology of any kind. And the room itself was mostly destroyed."

"Except for the rings, sir," Sam said.

"Yes, except for those. But those were probably put there by Anubis." Jack turned to Cully. "You didn't use rings did you?"

Cully looked from one to the other in confusion. "What are these rings?"

Teal'c explained.

"No, we have no use for those," Cully confirmed. "However, if the holder for the Circulus is still intact there is hope that the Circulation will work. According to legend, it is placed somewhere outside the ruins. We could never find it when we lived in the caves, but that does not exclude the possibility that it is still there."

"So, you put the Circulus in the Circle to get the Circulation to work?" Jack asked, confused as the topic of conversation jumped from one thing to the other. "But what the Circulation does it a guess at this point."

"Until we return to Trusla, yes," Cully smiled. "Historical texts guess that the Circulation releases a bio-toxin that will make the gene present in our people regress and also prevent the next generations from developing the gene that Anubis evidently made, but no text explains exactly how this will be done. It is believed that this way he will stop hunting us and leave us be."

"You live for a very long time. How much time is it believed that you require for this toxin to have the desired affect?" Teal'c asked.

"That is not known, which also leads me to believe that it is not what the Circulus actually does. It would take too much time before we saw any results, mostly because of our long life, while Anubis could destroy us in a day. I personally believe that what this does will have an immediate result."

"There wasn't anything in Daniel's translations about this," Sam said. "He translated the entire scroll and the outside and it didn't say anything about being a secret weapon or something else powerful."

"I suppose that Tamram intended for it to be vague so that it wasn't immediately clear to those who found either the Circulus what it would do unless they were of our people."

"Isn't there some sort of record explaining what the Circulation does?" Jack asked.

"I don't believe so. It was a secret, and potentially very dangerous at that. A lot of time has passed. I do not think the Circulus was lost intentionally."

"Yet your people know about the Circulus and the Circle," Sam said. "From what Daniel gathered, it looked like part of a temple."

"Indeed. We once, before the fall-out with the Asgard, worshipped the goddess Idunn."

"Yes," Thor said. "Idunn was the protector of Tubris and Tuberous."

"Where is she now?" Cully asked.

"She is not longer among us," Thor said. "I will do the negotiations on her behalf."

Cully nodded, clearly having a lot on his mind, what with learning of the Asgard and Earth and finding the Circulus.

"There weren't any more murals," Sam said, leafing through Daniel's field notes in lieu of him being there to explain. "According to Daniel's and SG-13's findings—that's the team we sent on reconnaissance," she explained to Cully, "there was only the one wall with the tale of how you got there. Everything else was destroyed. There was nothing there to hint at what would happen when the Circulus was connected to the Circulation. I'm sorry we couldn't figure it out for you."

"That's all right," Cully said. "You have helped us a great deal by bringing us the Circulus and bringing the Asgard to our aid."

"Why don't you come with us to check it out?" Jack asked. "Thor can help you get in touch with Tallis again and you can see for yourself."

Hammond nodded, and Thor and Cully followed him and Jack into the Gateroom.

"We will contact the Tuberous," Thor said. "If it is agreed to continue the negotiations here, I will return with Cully to Earth on my ship, and we can talk further then. In the meantime, I will contact some of our engineers so that we may help repair the damage to the Tuberous' ship. If all is agreed upon, Cully and I will return within two days."

"That long, eh?" Jack said.

Thor sighed. "As I have explained before, O'Neill, the hyperdrive on my ship does not function as well as I would like. Most of our more advanced vessels are occupied with the war with the Replicators."

"Okay," Hammond said. "Have a safe trip." The Stargate activated and Thor and Cully left. Hammond and Jack walked back to the briefing room and sat down again. "Anything else I need to be informed of?" Hammond asked when they were seated again.

"I can't think of anything, sir," Sam said.

"All right, dismissed. Go get yourselves checked out. We'll continue this when we hear from Thor again."

 

&&&&&

 

Daniel drifted as Janet worked. Just being home felt great, and now that he could think past the pain, he was almost happy. Janet would soon make him feel better, and then he could get some sleep. Waiting patiently while Janet listened to his chest, Daniel wondered how his team was faring with the negotiations. Lying down again at Janet's instruction, he decided he'd sleep first and ask questions later.

"Let's have a look at this stomach of yours and see what's going on, shall we?" Janet said when she had Daniel where she wanted him again, waking him up from his half-sleeping state. The initial exam didn't take long, and once she finished, she let him put on the gown. "Get some rest. I'll be back with the ultrasound in a little while." Janet tucked the blankets in around an already almost asleep Daniel. She would have to wait for the labs to come back before she could decide on what to do, but in the meantime she could do an ultrasound to get a better look at what was going on inside Daniel's stomach.

Walking over to the nurse's station, Janet found that she had to wait more than a few minutes for the ultrasound to be available as it currently was being used somewhere else. Daniel needed the rest. Watching from where she now stood, Janet was happy to see Daniel burrowing his head in the pillow, curling up on his side, his body clearly remembering the pain it recently had been in and wanting to shield itself from further discomfort. He was not in any immediate danger and the meds she'd given him was doing a good job of healing him. He did need that ultrasound though, and Janet tapped her fingers against a convenient table, wanting for it to be ready. At that moment the doors opened and the rest of SG-1 entered and she focused her attention on their exams.

 

&&&&&

 

Post-mission exams over, Sam, Teal'c and Jack all gathered around the bed of their sleeping teammate. Daniel was sleeping quietly. "I suggest you follow his example," Janet said as she found the three of them sitting where she knew they'd be, around Daniel's bed. "He'll be sleeping for quite a while."

"How is he?" Sam asked.

"He was in a lot of pain and feeling very sick to his stomach when he returned, but I've given him some strong painkillers and he is resting now. I haven't got his labs back yet, but it looks like there is an infection in his system in addition to the gallstones. I've put him on antibiotics as well as pain relievers and am just waiting for the ultrasound to be available to have a better look at what's going on."

"I'll sit with him; you go get some rest," Jack said.

"Sir, if you don't mind, I'd like to sit with him," Sam argued. "If I may say so, you look exhausted."

"She's right, sir. You look tired," Janet said.

"Okay," Jack relented. "Carter, you keep an eye on Daniel and T and I will be back later."

 

&&&&&

 

Daniel blinked his eyes open and groaned. Not immediately realising where he was, he stretched a little but immediately curled up again as the stretching caused the pain in his stomach to flare. Rubbing at the painful area, he turned onto his side and blinked at Sam. "Hey." Clearing his throat, he looked around for something to drink.

"Hey," Sam said, squeezing his hand in greeting. "How are you feeling?"

"Thirsty," Daniel replied.

"I'll see if I can find some water. Hold on."

A moment later, she was back. "I'm sorry, Daniel. Doc says you can't have any. You threw up blood earlier, and they don't want you to take anything by mouth in case you'd throw up again."

"Mmm," Daniel sighed, closing his eyes again.

"I guess you're not in too much pain right now?" Sam said, smiling. Daniel was humming softly and appeared to be doped to the gills.

"Nah, not so much."

"Feel like talking for a bit?" Sam asked, wanting to bring Daniel up to speed.

"Sure," Daniel scooted back on the bed, putting the pillows behind his back and bending his legs. "How'd Jack manage the negotiations?"

"It went well. Cully, that's Tallis' second in command, came back with us to continue the negotiations here. He and Thor are contacting his people as we speak and Thor are sending some engineers to help fix the Tuberous' ship."

"That's good," Daniel mumbled, sleepy again.

"Get some sleep," Sam said, "We'll talk more later."

In answer Daniel turned onto his side, burrowed down and slept. Sam smiled and looked around for something to read while she kept watch.


	11. Chapter 11

PART ELEVEN

 

"Colonel, what are you doing here?" Sam said, surprised when Jack turned up not thirty minutes later.

"Oh, couldn't sleep. I'll just hang out for a while, okay?"

"No problem, sir." She indicated Daniel's bed. "He woke for a moment, but he's high as a kite, so he fell asleep again fairly quickly."

Jack pulled a stool over and he and Sam sat in companionable silence, watching Daniel sleep. Sam was reading some papers and Jack had brought a crossword puzzle.

"I thought I ordered you to sleep," Janet said, coming over to the bed a few moments later.

"Yeah, well," Jack shrugged.

"Why don't you get some sleep, Sam," Janet suggested with a smile. "It seems the colonel here is incapable of doing so."

Sam sighed. She'd rather stay here with Daniel, but there was no point in both of them staying. "Okay. I'll be back in the morning."

"Night, Carter."

"Night, sir."

"Colonel, when Daniel wakes up, would you let him know I want to talk to him?" Janet asked after Sam had left. "He needs another dose of his medications soon."

"Sure," Jack answered. He had no real intention of waking Daniel, yet the suggestion was there. Jack tilted his head to the side and looked at Daniel. He didn't look all that bad. A gentle poke in the shoulder wouldn't hurt, would it? It would only be to see how deeply Daniel was sleeping. Making his mind up Jack gently nudged Daniel's shoulder. Daniel grunted and unerringly swatted at Jack's hand.

"Colonel," Janet said sternly, coming over to Daniel's bed again and crossing her arms over her chest. "That's not how one wakes a patient in my infirmary."

"Then why did you want me to wake him?" Jack asked. He was going for confused but knew he was busted by the way Janet looked at him questioningly.

"I didn't want you to wake him. I said when he wakens I'd like to talk to him."

"Ah. Sorry, Doc," Jack said, not sounding very contrite, wanting Daniel to be awake so they could talk. "You know how difficult it can be to wake Daniel on a good day."

"Yes, I know, but this isn't a 'good day'. He's sick and tired."

"My point exactly," Jack said, opting to shake Daniel gently instead of poking at him to prove his point. "He's even more difficult to wake now."

Janet sighed and shook her head. She knew Jack wasn't as insensitive as he sounded, waking Daniel like that. The more likely explanation was that he was just as worried as she was, a fact that was clearly evident in the way he hovered over Daniel's bed, keeping himself within Daniel's immediate line of vision, a hand resting on Daniel's head, thumb unconsciously rubbing the short hair beneath his fingers, eagerly waiting for Daniel to open his eyes. It was only an outlet for pent up energy and worry, nothing more.

Daniel finally blinked his eyes open, pushed away Jack's hand that was hovering just above his shoulder and cleared his throat. "Hey, Jack. Janet, don't mind him."

"Hi," Jack said, leaning over the bed, looking at Daniel. "How are you feeling?"

"Sleepy," Daniel said, finally opening his eyes again. "You woke me."

"Sorry about that. Doc's here though," Jack said.

"'Kay." Daniel found the bed controls and sat up, but lowered his bed again when he felt nausea starting to build up in his stomach. Breathing heavily to keep the fast-increasing sickness at bay, Daniel looked around for something that could help. He felt feverish and in pain and was not all that happy about being woken up. "Don't feel so good," he muttered when Jack and Janet both looked at him worry.

"I know," Janet said, holding up the syringe she had in her hand. "I'm about to do something about that now. Try to calm your breathing. This should help." She quickly injected the contents of the syringe into Daniel's IV port and helped him turn onto his side. "Colonel, could you hand me that tray?" Janet asked, indicating the emesis basin on the tray on the rollaway table behind Jack.

"Ah," Jack quickly leaned over and grabbed the basin, holding it ready in case Daniel needed it. A few minutes passed but Daniel didn't throw up and Jack put the basin away.

"Oh, god," Daniel mumbled, curling up and clutching at his stomach. Closing his eyes tightly he rode out another wave of nausea.

"I'll give you some morphine," Janet said, waving a nurse over, giving the order to fetch the medication. Daniel turned onto his back, hoping the change in position would alleviate the pain. The pain was making him dizzy, and that alone made the nausea worse. This day was turning into a bad circle of pain, nausea, upchucking and more pain. He was getting tired of it and fast. Feeling the medication starting to work, he closed his eyes and was relieved when his breathing calmed down and the urge to throw up disappeared.

"Colonel, if you don't mind, the ultrasound is available, and I need to check Daniel out again," Janet said.

"Sure, feel better soon, Daniel," Jack said, starting to regret waking Daniel after all. "I'll be back in a bit. I'm sorry I woke you."

Daniel shrugged. "'S okay." He gave a little smile before waving at Jack. "See you."

Janet closed the drapes around his bed again, and had started to get the ultrasound ready, stopping when she saw Daniel had pulled the blankets to his chin and that he was shivering. Placing her hand against his forehead she asked "Your temp is up. How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay," Daniel said. "Stomach still hurts, but the roar is down to a dull ache."

"That's good to hear." Janet looked at the screen displaying Daniel's vitals, writing down the data in his chart before injecting something into the IV port. "I'm giving you something more for the fever too. It should be down soon." She pulled the blankets down and helped Daniel out of his gown so she could start with the ultrasound. "Your blood work indicates there's an infection in your gallbladder, which accounts for the fever and the pain you're experiencing. I've started you on intravenous antibiotics to take care of the infection, but let's see what's going on in there. You ready?" Janet took the top off the ultrasound gel, warming it before spreading it liberally across Daniel's stomach.

As Janet worked, Daniel drifted. The ultrasound gel felt cold to his hot skin, but the probe didn't make anything hurt worse. The fever was making him ache all over, and he had a throbbing headache.

"Daniel, are you asleep in there?" Janet asked, drying the gel off, noticing that Daniel had closed his eyes.

"No," Daniel mumbled, opening his eyes to look at her, missing the coolness of the warmed ultrasound gel against his too-hot skin. "Find anything?"

Janet sat down on the side of his bed and Daniel frowned. She never did that unless she had bad news. Janet patted his leg before tucking Daniel in again, smoothing the covers. "Janet?" Daniel asked a little fearfully. "What's wrong?"

Janet smiled, and shook her head. Her news wasn't good, but it wasn't that bad. "I want you to have a CT before I can say for sure, but as it looks we might have to go in and take out both your gallstones and your gallbladder."

"Why?" Daniel asked.

Janet turned the screen connected to the ultrasound around so Daniel could see. "When I examined you last time, I didn't see this," she pointed to a particular spot in the picture. "This is your gallbladder, but these two tubes here are your bile ducts. See those spots there? Those are stones too." Janet said, looking at him to see if he understood. Daniel nodded, urging Janet to continue with a wave of his hand. "They're too big, blocking the way for the bile the gallbladder produces to pass into your small intestine. Because the stones are stuck, the bile ducts and the gallbladder are infected, and that's why we might have to operate. The CT will confirm it. The stones in your bile ducts are probably the reason why you've been in so much pain. They weren't large enough to be seen when I examined you earlier; most likely they grew over the last couple of days."

"How's that possible?" Daniel asked. "I've hardly eaten anything at all. I know I don't know anatomy as well as you do but if I remember correctly I've had to eat to produce bile, right?"

Janet nodded. "Yes, but you've produced bile even if you haven't eaten. You were mostly throwing up bile earlier, remember."

Daniel nodded.

"The thing is, Daniel," Janet said, "that this probably has been going on for a while. You're not the typical candidate for a cholecystectomy."

"How's that?"

"Well," Janet said, smiling to herself a little, "although you are 40, you're not female and overweight."

"No," Daniel said, drawing the word out into a question, sensing there was more coming. "But?"

"I think the most probable cause is that you don't eat regularly. Your cholesterol is fine, but you tend to eat only when someone reminds you to, and that might have caused your gallbladder to be over-productive at times, producing more bile than what it can rid itself of, thus creating the stones when the fats the bile is there to break down don't pass quickly enough through your system," Janet said.

"So when will you operate?" Daniel asked eager to get rid of the pain completely and wanting Janet to stop chastising him.

"Tomorrow," Janet said, letting the lecture be for now. She knew Jack gave Daniel enough grief about not eating regularly as it was. "It's getting late and I want both you and your system to have a chance to rest before we start poking you full of holes. It's not surgery you need right this minute, but you do need it. We can keep your pain in check with meds. However, I don't like to keep you on strong painkillers for longer than necessary."

"What do you mean poke me full of holes?" Daniel asked. He didn't want to be on strong pain killers more than he needed to either. They made his brain fuzzy.

"Four or five small holes, actually," Janet said. "Cholecystectomy is mostly done laprascopically. There's no reason for us to do it any other way unless you take a drastic change for the worse."

"Go for it," Daniel said, scooting down on the bed, ready to sleep some more.

Janet smiled. "Good. Get some rest."

 

&&&&&

 

A long nap that turned out to be almost a full night's sleep and a CT scan later, Daniel saw Sam waiting as he was rolled back in to the main infirmary again. "Hey," he greeted.

"Hi," Sam replied, standing up to help the orderly to push Daniel's bed back in place. "How are you doing?"

"I'm better," Daniel adjusted his position in the bed, making sure he wasn't lying on any of the lines attaching him to the IV pole and the monitor, scooting down a little so he was lying back against the pillows.

"Janet said she'd sent you to take a CT of your stomach? What's going on?" Sam asked, looking intently at Daniel. He was looking a lot better but he still had the blush of fever in his cheeks and he looked tired and was clearly still on the "good stuff" as his eyes didn't track as fast as they usually did.

"Janet wants to take out my gallbladder," Daniel explained.

"That's good," Sam nodded, relieved that Daniel would feel much better soon.

"So, what's the verdict?" Daniel asked when Janet joined Sam at his bedside.

"The CT confirmed what I'd found earlier, so we're going in to operate. It's scheduled for later today."

"Okay."

Janet brushed the hair off his forehead, checking for fever, glad to see it was somewhat reduced. She checked the monitor and wrote the numbers down in Daniel's chart before returning it to the foot of his bed. "You feel like eating anything? You can have a little something now if you'd like."

Daniel shook his head.

"Yesterday you said he couldn't have anything," Sam said confused.

"Yes, but he hasn't thrown up anything and there's no free blood in his system, so it's safe for him to have a little something if he'd like now. It'll be more than six hours till we can start on his surgery."

"Sorry, I don't think I could handle anything," Daniel said, yawning and placing a hand protectively over his stomach.

"Okay, try to get some sleep," Janet suggested, adjusting the IV lead. "It's still early."

"Sam, I'm sorry I'm not much company at the moment," Daniel said, yawning.

"That's okay," Sam said, smiling and patting his arm. "I don't expect you too be. Sleep well."

Turning over onto his side, Daniel drew the covers up past his shoulders and slept before Janet even had left his bedside.

 

&&&&&

 

"Daniel, wake up," Janet said, shaking Daniel's shoulder.

"Huh?" Daniel blinked his eyes open and peered at Janet through half-closed lids.

"We're taking you into surgery soon."

"What?" Daniel mumbled into his pillow, still not awake. "Oh. Okay, I'm up." He rolled over onto his back and looked at Janet who was pulling his blankets away and tugging at his gown.

"I'm just going to check your stomach before we get started."

Daniel grabbed her hand. "I need to pee first." That business taken care of, Daniel lay back and watched as Janet palpated his stomach.

"No change from yesterday, that's good." She checked his vitals and fetched a syringe from the tray on the rollaway table by the bed. "I'll just give you something to make you relax and then we're ready."

"You just woke me to make me sleep again," Daniel muttered good-naturedly. He felt okay, but he knew that was due to the drugs running through his veins.

"In a manner of speaking, yes," Janet laughed. She handed Daniel a surgical cap to wear and an orderly rolled him into the operating theatre. A mask was placed over his mouth and nose and someone told him to count backwards from ten. Daniel only made it to seven and then he was out.

 

&&&&&

 

"When's he supposed to wake up?" Jack asked, tapping his fingers on the table in the observation room above the recovery room where Daniel now lay, still in the clutches of the anaesthesia. Jack winced as a nurse took the tube out of Daniel's mouth and placed an oxygen mask there instead.

"They just finished with the surgery so it'll be a couple of hours. Why do you ask?" Sam said, sitting down beside him.

"Oh, just wondering, really," Jack said, continuing his tapping on the table.

"I've talked to General Hammond. Thor and Cully will arrive in about thirty minutes, and we'll have a briefing when they get here. I just came down here to see how Daniel was doing."

"And you knew you'd find me here," Jack said.

"Yup," Sam smiled, looking out the window down at Daniel, who appeared to be sleeping peacefully.

"Well, Daniel's going to be out of it for a few more hours, so I'm ready if you're ready," Jack said, getting to his feet.

Sam opened the door and let Jack precede her down the stairs into the main hallway where Janet was coming down the hallway from another direction.

"Doc," Jack greeted. "How's he doing?"

"Daniel will be fine," Janet said after greeting them good afternoon. "The surgery went well, and he's recovering nicely. I'm keeping him for a few days because of the infection, and to make sure that his system is working properly, but he should be back on his feet and on light duty in within the week. Although he's had minor surgery, I don't recommend any traipsing around the galaxy for a week or two."

"He's not going to like that," Sam commented.

Janet chuckled. "No, probably not." She, like SG-1 did not like the thought of a grounded Daniel. A grounded Daniel was a grumpy Daniel, and a grumpy Daniel was not good for the environment and was best avoided. "I'll let you know when he wakes up."

"Thanks," Jack and Sam replied simultaneously before they headed to the briefing room to wait for Thor and Cully, and Janet went into the recovery room to see how Daniel was doing.

 

&&&&&

 

"How is Dr. Jackson?" General Hammond asked as Teal'c, Thor and Cully sat down at the briefing room table.

"He came out of surgery less than an hour ago, sir. Dr. Fraiser said he'll be fine," Sam said.

"I take it Tallis agreed to let you continue the negotiations?" Jack asked.

"He did," Cully said. "He was most pleased to receive help from Thor's engineers."

"Indeed," Thor supplied. "They have already begun repairs on the ship and if things progress ad predicted they will be able to repair it in short order."

"That's great news," Jack said. "Wonderful. Now we just have to wait for Daniel to recover so we can go check out Tubris. No offense, Cully, but I wouldn't go there without him. He's the one who's figured out most of what we know, and he wouldn't have it any other way. We need him there."

Cully nodded. "We would like to find the Circulation as soon as possible, but we can wait a few days. What is a few more days when we have waited for centuries?"

Jack smiled. "Wise decision."

"In the meantime, I suggest you and Thor can continue your negotiations for the future relationship between your peoples," Hammond said. "Until Dr. Jackson recovers enough to join you, we are happy to have you as our guests. I'm sure there is a lot you can learn from our people."

"Thank you," Cully said happily. "I very much appreciate all your help."

"Colonel, why don't you sit in on the negotiations?" Hammond suggested, getting a panicked look from Jack. "You'll do fine." Jack shook his head but didn't say anything. Sam smiled and Teal'c bowed his head regally at all of them before they left together with General Hammond.

"So," Jack said, uncertain, "where to start?"


	12. Chapter 12

PART TWELVE

 

Daniel woke to a dry mouth, intense nausea and a thumping headache. At first he wasn't sure where he was, but the constant beep of the monitors surrounding him and the pasty feeling in his mouth soon brought the memories of the surgery to the front of his mind. Anaesthesia always made him feel sick to his stomach, and he looked around for something he inevitably could throw up in before it was too late, pushing aside the oxygen mask that covered his face. The recovery room was empty except for him and a nurse who, upon seeing he was awake, came over to his bed. Looking up at the observation room, Daniel saw that that too was empty and remembered that his team was busy working with Thor and Cully.

"Hello, Dr. Jackson, how are you feeling?" The nurse started taking his vitals and writing them down in the chart attached to the foot of his bed.

"'M okay," Daniel said, clearing his throat and licking his lips, swallowing the nausea down by sheer force of will. He was feeling a little fever-achy still and moving about seemed like too much of an effort just yet. "Can I have some water?" He knew it wouldn't stay down, but the taste in his mouth was awful and at the moment it was the only thing he could think of. He'd been throwing up so much lately that once more didn't seem like a big deal. He was mostly pain free. There was a general dull ache in his entire abdomen but it wasn't bad.

"Let's see what Dr. Fraiser says first, okay?"

Daniel sighed and the nurse left to find Janet.

A moment later Janet entered the room, the nurse in tow, "Hey, Daniel, I'm glad to see you're awake," Janet said, stopping by Daniel's bedside to check his vitals. "Looking good," she nodded. "Your fever's down a little. How's the nausea?"

Daniel winced. "It's there," he replied, trying to ignore his rolling stomach.

"Headache?" Janet asked, noticing the telltale lines of pain around Daniel's eyes.

"Yeah," he nodded.

"I'll give you something for it in a second; just let me check your incisions first." Janet peeled back the layers of clothing, sheets and bandages and gently palpated the area around the small incisions. "Everything looks good. We got everything, both the gallbladder and the stones." She injected the contents of a syringe into his IV and tucked him back in. "Why don't we let the meds get a chance to work, and if you're feeling better in a little while, you can go back to the ward. I was told you wanted some water?"

"Yeah, but come to think of it, I think I'll pass," Daniel said, finding it really difficult to hold the nausea at bay.

"Okay, but let me know if you need anything," Janet said, writing something in his chart. "Get some sleep."

"Thanks, Janet," Daniel said when he had his stomach under control again, closing his eyes and willing the medication to work. Janet patted his leg briefly and left Daniel alone with the nurse again.

Janet had barely left and Daniel was drifting when he heard the door slowly being opened and someone tip-toeing over to his bed. There was a scrape of chair and the rustle of clothing as someone sat down. Opening his eyes to confirm his guess at who came to see him, Daniel was glad to see Sam sitting by his bed.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Sam greeted when she saw Daniel was awake but clearly sleepy. "How are you feeling?"

Daniel assessed his body and decided that the meds Janet had given him earlier was starting to work. The nausea was at a manageable level and the headache wasn't so bad either. "Better."

"Glad to hear it," Sam said, sitting down beside Daniel's bed. Knowing that Daniel soon would get tired, Sam watched as he drifted, letting the last of the anaesthesia leave his body, chatting about nonsensical things until Daniel started to snore, mouth hanging open. Daniel turned his head to the side, frowning in his sleep and burrowing deeper into the blankets, his cheeks red with the lingering fever.

She was relieved a while later by Jack, who had let Cully and Thor continue their negotiations on their own. In his opinion, they didn't need him sitting in on their discussion, but it was a bad sign for the host of the negotiations to not be there. Thor understood his need to check on Daniel, and Teal'c took over, letting Jack visit Daniel.

"Colonel," Janet whispered in greeting. Daniel was still sleeping and still snoring, so she didn't want to wake him.

She did a quick exam and exchanged the oxygen mask with a nasal canula, not wanting to bother Daniel too much while he slept. Daniel didn't even react as she checked him out. Glad he was sleeping soundly, Janet turned her attention to Jack again. "He's doing well. I've requested an orderly to bring him back to the main ward."

"Excellent," Jack said, getting to his feet as the orderly came into the room, unlocking Daniel's bed from its fixed position, hooking the oxygen tank to the head of the bed and attaching the IV pole to the bed before wheeling Daniel out of recovery towards the main ward. Jack watched as the orderly performed his duties with eased practice. "What's with the oxygen?" He suddenly asked Janet. He'd noticed the nasal canula but he hadn't thought to ask before now. "He's not got trouble breathing, has he? It didn't sound like he was struggling."

"No, he hasn't, not really. His saturation levels were a bit low and he was feeling very sick to his stomach when he woke up. Just think how it would be if you felt sick and had trouble breathing at the same time; it would make the nausea even worse. He's only receiving half a litre so it's mostly to keep him comfortable. I'll remove it soon once he's fully awake."

"Good," Jack said. Daniel always snored when sleeping heavily. After years of sharing tents and quarters, Jack knew his friend's breathing like his own and hadn't heard anything that alerted him to Daniel not being able to breathe properly.

Janet nodded, remembering that she was to forward another message from Hammond. Stopping in the middle of the hallway letting the orderly pass by her, Janet turned back to Jack "I almost forgot. General Hammond wants to speak with you in the briefing room as soon as possible."

"Okay, I'll head down there now. Let me know when Daniel wakes up again?" Jack said, watching as Daniel's bed disappeared around the corner.

"I will," Janet agreed.

 

&&&&&

 

The next time Daniel woke it was to the sound of soft laughter and the aches of fever. His stomach was a dull ache and he could feel he was in the clutches of strong drugs. He had no idea how much time had passed but he didn't feel like checking. He'd just go back to sleep and hopefully feel better when he woke up again. Daniel could feel his temperature was climbing and he shifted uncomfortably around in the bed, winching as he pulled at some of his stitches. Lifting a hand to rub at the sore area, he was interrupted by someone else's hand taking his and firmly placing it back on the mattress. Letting it go, Daniel turned around a little more, and finally found a position that was less uncomfortable than the one he'd previously been in. Someone was wringing something out in water but before he could guess at what it was, a cool wetness passed over his face and neck. Sighing Daniel slept again.

 

&&&&&

 

"How are things going here?" Jack asked, joining the others in the briefing room.

"We have come to an agreement," Cully said, proudly looking around at the people gathered.

"That's great," Sam said. "What have you decided?"

"We would be most happy to fall under the Asgard's protected planets treaty again," Cully smiled. "I will return to Tubris."

"I don't think you should go back alone," Sam said. "We don't know if the Jaffa has returned or if it is safe for you. I suggest we join you." She turned to General Hammond who nodded in approval.

"I understand. Thank you." Cully thought for a moment. "If it is possible, I have a suggestion."

"Go on," Hammond said, nodding for Cully to continue.

"I would wish for Dr. Jackson to join us," Cully looked at the people assembled in the briefing. The confirming nods and smiles he received urged him to continue. "He has done much in helping us but has not seen the fruits of his labours, unless he is too ill to travel?"

"He's too sick now. He's had surgery and the infection he's suffering from is under control," Sam said.

"That is agreeable with me," Cully said.

"General?" Sam asked. Hammond nodded.

"Wonderful," Jack said. "Now all we have to do is waiting for Daniel to get better so we can go back to Tubris."

"Indeed," Thor said. "In the meantime, my engineers will continue to work on your ship and I will monitor the process from orbit, making sure you are safe."

"How much time would Dr. Jackson require to recover?" Cully asked.

"Fraiser says about a week. He's got a fever from the infection in his stomach, but he should recover fully."

"How much time do you estimate for the repairs of the ship?" Hammond asked Thor.

"A week is ample time to get most of the crucial systems into working condition. In fact, I am sure we will be able to have it finished by then."

"In the meantime, Cully, you are welcome to stay as our guest. I am sure there is much you can learn from us, and we from you," Hammond suggested.

"Will I be able to communicate with my people while I'm here?" Cully asked.

"Thor?" Jack asked.

"If I had a more advanced vessel it would have been possible, but as it is, it is not possible with the distance between Tubris and Earth."

"I see," Cully said. "May I think about staying?"

"Of course," Sam said, then snapped her fingers as she realized something. "Of course, why didn't I think of it before?"

"What?" Jack asked curiously.

"The MALP is still on Tubris. We can contact Thor at a specific time every day. If you give both Cully and Tallis one of your communicators we could at least establish radio contact."

"Then it is settled," Cully said, after receiving an affirmative nod from Thor. "I would be happy to stay as your guest for a few days."

Hammond nodded. "Major Carter, I assure you will see to that our guest is given suitable quarters?"

"Of course, sir," Sam replied. I'll do it right away."

"That is all, people," Hammond said. "Dismissed."

"This is great," Sam said eagerly, "Just wait till you meet Daniel. He's going to want to talk to you. He's going to be thrilled that we're waiting to go back till he's better."

"Why is that?" Cully asked.

"Well, he's our culture guy, the historian if you will. Come on, why don't we go and see if we can get you settled first, and then we'll call Dr. Fraiser and see if Daniel is up to some visitors."

 

&&&&&

 

The first thing Daniel heard when he woke this time was the soft, somewhat heavy thump of something soft and wet falling onto something else soft. The next thing he realised was that the wet cloth that previously had been lying on his forehead was now lying on his hand. Taking it, he put it on the bedside table. He could sense he'd slept for a while and looked around for a clock. The surgery had been around midday, and when he'd woken up last time, he'd heard the nurses talking about supper so it must have been late afternoon or early evening, which meant it now was… 8:30, Daniel found out as his eyes finally made contact with the clock on the wall and he'd squinted so he could see the hands properly.

But where was his team? Daniel's head was aching now along with his joints and the general soreness that was his abdomen. He sighed. The only way for him to find out what was going on was to talk to his team but at the moment he was feeling too exhausted and sick to ask Janet if she could get one of his team to come to the infirmary so she could answer his questions.

"Sam," Daniel heard Janet greet. "I was just about to call you for an update on Daniel's condition."

"How is he?" Sam asked. Daniel could hear the worry in her voice and he frowned, paying closer attention to the hushed conversation.

Janet sighed. She was clearly not aware of Daniel being awake or she'd not done that in his presence. "His fever spiked a few hours ago while you were in the meeting. It came down, but now it's spiking again. I've just put him on stronger antibiotics, but you know that wreaks havoc with his stomach, so to prevent nausea I've given him a heavy-duty anti-emetic which, combined with the other medicines he's on, will give him other bowel problems and… It's unavoidable, but as it is, for Daniel at the moment, obstruction is better than vomiting. It'll help once I can lower the strength of his painkillers, but that will be a day or two. After that, he should recover quickly. For the moment, he's drowsy and feverish and uncomfortable, but at this point I think the only thing for us to do is waiting till he improves. I'm afraid he'll pull some stitches if he starts throwing up now. We've taken more blood, and the infection hasn't increased, but it hasn't shown signs of going away, either."

"I'll talk to the Colonel," Sam said. "Cully is with Teal'c at the moment, getting the grand tour with a Jaffa twist. He wants to meet Daniel and I promised I'd ask you if he was up to some visitors. I was just coming here to see Daniel for a moment before I'm joining the others for dinner. But I guess dinner's out now. I'll call the Colonel."

"I'll be here," Janet said, coming over to Daniel's bed. "There's no hurry. Daniel's sleeping and he's just uncomfortable, not in a life-threatening situation. Go have your dinner and come back when you've eaten. I'll let you know if anything happens."

Sam sighed. "I guess you're right. I just...."

"Hey," Daniel simply said, interrupting wishing he could go with his friends to eat.

"Hey there, I didn't realise you were awake. I guess you heard our conversation," Sam said. "I'll be back later, okay?" She squeezed Daniel's hand and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

Daniel nodded. "Go eat. Say hi to the others." Once Sam had left he turned to Janet. "I guess the infection is why I'm feeling lousy now?"

"I would think so, yes," Janet said, starting to take his vitals.

"Good. I don't remember feeling this bad before after surgery, not the first day anyway."

"No? You remember having had surgery before?" Janet asked. They'd done a series of neurological tests on Daniel after he descended and kept doing various scans once a month to see if there was any change, but so far they hadn't seen anything. The NID and Area 51 had wanted to get their hands on his medical file since the very beginning of the Stargate Programme, and their lust hadn't diminished after Daniel's ascension and desension.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "No details, I just have a feeling I've been through something like this before."

"Well, if you want to read your medical file I'm sure you'd find out all about what you've been through before," Janet teased.

"Can I?" Daniel asked, surprised.

"No."

"Darn." Daniel scowled. "Then why'd you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. Just wanted to see how much you remembered," Janet smiled.

"Oh, okay." Daniel pulled at his blankets, covering his chest and bending his legs. Janet placed her hand on his forehead and found the wet cloth again. Wringing it out, she placed it back on Daniel's head.

"It can't be comfortable lying like that," Janet said, motioning to Daniel's bent legs.

"It's better than lying flat. This way I don't pull on my stitches."

"I see. Is it okay if I have a look at your stomach?" Janet asked after finishing writing down her newest find in Daniel's chart.

Daniel shook his head. "I'd rather you didn't. It's kind of tender. Can't you just look later?" Daniel asked, but Janet shook her head.

"I'll try to be gentle. You're evidently not feeling well and I want to make sure everything's healing as it should. Just relax." Janet soothed, waiting for Daniel's accepting nod before setting to work examining her patient. Listening to his stomach Janet decided that bowel sounds were good and after palpating it she decided it wasn't more swollen or rigid than what could be expected so soon after surgery. Daniel wasn't happy with her ministrations though and she gently batted his hand away when he tried to prevent her from palpating. "I'm done," she said, tucking him back in.

"Hey, Doc, what's going on?" Jack's voice interrupted her exam and Janet quickly finished covering Daniel up again, patting his arm to let him know she was finished before letting Jack in through the partly curtained-off area. Daniel had closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing as she'd checked him out. He was clearly nauseous again and any contact with his stomach, however gentle, was not appreciated. Daniel turned onto his side and in the short moment it took for Janet to turn her back and greet Jack leaned over the side of the bed and violently threw up.

"Damn!" Janet exclaimed, rushing to Daniel's side, muttering something to herself about why he didn't tell her he was that nauseous. "I'd hoped he wouldn't do that. Nurse!" she called, waving one of her trusted nurses over. "Get someone to clean up this." Jack helped Janet put Daniel properly back onto the bed. Janet lifted Daniel's gown and found that he'd torn some of his stitches. "And find me a suture set and some local anaesthetic."

Daniel mewled in pain and pulled away from Janet's touch, clearly confused. "Colonel, you'd better come back later. I'll explain then." Taking the items the nurse brought and sidestepping the mess on the floor, Janet watched as Jack slowly retreated to the corner of the room, his never-relenting gaze burning into her back. She cleaned Daniel's face and once he'd calmed down she gave him the local and attached the pulsoxymetry that had fallen off during his bout of vomiting. Janet watched as Daniel fell into a light doze and saw that his saturation was good before she started reattaching the sutures. "I want another scan, just in case. I don't think he tore anything internally, but I'd like to scan him to be sure."

"Yes, doctor," the nurse said, tucking Daniel in after Janet had finished.

"Daniel?" Janet shook his shoulder a little to get his attention again. Daniel had retreated into himself as she worked but she needed to know what he was feeling. "How are you doing?" she asked as soon as he opened his eyes.

"Um… not so good really. I guess I was feeling worse than I thought. Isn't there something else you can give me?" Daniel blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. Glancing at the mess on the floor he added. "I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry," Janet soothed. "You're due another pain-killer now. As for giving you something else, I'd like to give you something to let you get some proper sleep for a little while. Just long enough for you to gather your strength. Your surgery went well but you can't keep throwing up like this. You'll pull more stitches and that'll slow the healing process. I'd like to do another scan and have the chance to examine you without you throwing up on us, okay?"

"Okay." Daniel let himself drift, listening to the noises of the infirmary while the pain-killer started to work. Soon after he was sleeping deeply, snoring and drooling. Janet closed his mouth and Daniel turned his head in his sleep, pulling the blankets up to his shoulders.

"You may see him for a little while now," Janet said, motioning for Jack to come back to Daniel's bedside.

"What just happened?" Jack asked, somewhat shaken.

Janet explained what she'd told Sam earlier. "We'll let the painkiller get a chance to have full effect and then we'll do a few more tests. I think this recent development mostly is a bad reaction to the medication we're having him on. As I told Sam, as soon as he's on lower doses he'll recover more quickly."

Jack nodded, feeling a little shocked still. "If it's all right with you, I'll just sit with him for a few hours. Teal'c's agreed to take over at midnight. I brought sudoku." He waved the book in Janet's face.

"Good, just don't wake him." Knowing Jack hated to be idle, Janet added. "While you're here you might as well be on wet cloth duty. Replace it once in a while until his temperature reaches 100 degrees, then you may take it away. I'll be back later and a nurse will be by in a few minutes."

"Yes, ma'am." Jack grabbed a chair and plopped down, as silently as he could plop down, beside Daniel. Janet had raised the side-rails of the bed and Jack propped his feet up on one of the rails, making sure his feet didn't get in way of the leads connecting Daniel to the monitors or Daniel's ability to move around. Adjusting the blanket over Daniel's feet, Jack set to work on solving the sudoku after having checked Daniel's temperature and placed a freshly wet cloth on his friend's forehead as per Janet's instructions.

Teal'c arrived as promised by midnight, and aside from Daniel being taken to be scanned and have a thorough exam, blood being drawn and vitals taken, the night went by uneventfully. Now and again a nurse would quietly come by to take Daniel's vitals or administer medication, but Daniel slept the sleep of the drugged and didn't wake once.

 

&&&&&

 

"Hey, sleepyhead," Jack greeted as soon as Daniel opened his eyes late the next day.

"Hey," Daniel said, clearing his throat and looking around at the people assembled at his bedside.

"You feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired still. What's going on?" Daniel asked, sitting up in bed and peering over Jack's shoulder. He sensed he'd been pretty sick the previous day but it wasn't so bad now. He was tired but the nausea and fever seemed to have lessened their hold a little.

"You up to some visitors?" Jack had come into Daniel's curtained-off area of the infirmary alone, but Daniel saw that there were others standing behind him, waiting to be let through. "Fraiser says you're doing better and let it be up to you."

"Sure, who've you got with you?" Daniel put his glasses on and drew his hands through his hair. Jack laughed when Daniel's hair stood on end. Daniel patted it back down and cleared his throat, piercing Jack with his gaze. Jack pulled the curtain back and revealed several others standing around Daniel's bed.

"Morning, guys," Daniel greeted.

"It's more like good afternoon," Sam said, smiling. "You've slept the morning away. We just came to see if you'd like some lunch."

"Um…" Daniel looked at the last person standing around his bed. There was his team and Janet but there was also someone else. This must be the visitor Jack had mentioned.

"Oh, yes of course. You haven't actually met. Cully, this is Dr. Jackson, or Daniel as we call him," Jack introduced. "Cully is Tallis' second in command. He's actually waiting for you to recover so we can go back to 552 and figure out the cylinder once and for all." Jack grinned at Daniel's raised eyebrows.

"Hello," Daniel said, feeling a little embarrassed to have off-world dignitaries visiting at his bedside. "I'm sorry we meet like this but I trust my friends are treating you well?"

"Indeed they are. There is no need to worry," Cully said smiling. "Your friends have told me much about you. O'Neill is right. I wish for you to return with us to reveal the Circulation. It would be an honour."

"I'd love to, if it's okay with everyone else," Daniel said, smiling.

"Hammond okayed it," Jack said. "You know we'd like for you to come with too. There's nothing else pressing for us to do so we can wait till you're better."

"It's settled," Daniel smiled.

"I trust you are recovering well?" Cully asked.

"Yeah," Daniel said, adjusting his position in the bed. "I think so." He was feeling better. He could feel the fever was down a good notch or two and his stomach was a dull ache and nothing more. The most pressing need at the moment was to pee.

"Guys, it's great to see you, but I have to go" Daniel said, squirming around a little, wincing as he pulled at the catheter line. He could go then and there but he'd rather not with company present.

"Why don't you let me give Daniel a quick exam and he can join you for lunch in a little while?" Janet asked, saving Daniel from having to explain about his needs. Daniel was looking much better but he would still tire easily and Jack had returned with the others so quickly that Daniel hadn't had a chance to get the call of nature taken care of yet.

"That's fine," Jack said, steering the rest of his team and their guest out of the infirmary. "Back in 30," he said over his shoulder. Daniel gave him the thumbs up before focusing his attention on Janet.

 

&&&&&

 

Janet finished her exam quickly, proclaiming that Daniel was healing nicely. Would he be able to walk to the bathroom and back by himself?

"Are you challenging me, Dr. Fraiser?" Daniel asked, feeling in good spirits, wanting to get out of bed.

"If you want to look at it that way," Janet said, getting to work and quickly removing the catheter. "All ready," she said, smiling and holding a hand to Daniel's arm as he got his feet under him and stood straight. "I challenge you to walk to the bathroom and back by yourself."

"And if I pass, will you let me out of here tonight?" Daniel asked.

"No, but I might let you out tomorrow night if you continue to improve and tick all my boxes."

"Tick all your boxes?" Daniel asked, frowning.

Janet shrugged. "Yeah, things like no fever for 24 hours, eating and drinking, making sure your bowel is working as it should, those sorts of things."

"Ah. Well, here goes. Ticking off the first box," Daniel said, starting to walk towards the bathroom. Halfway there, he turned, leaned on a convenient trolley and asked. "Can I have a shower?" He asked a little breathlessly. The walk to the bathroom proved to be a challenge after all. It made him a little dizzy but Daniel knew he'd do it, he wasn't that dizzy.

"Don't push your luck," Janet said, still smiling. "Maybe tonight, but you can clean up if you'd like." She came over with the small toiletry set she'd given him earlier.

"Thanks," Daniel headed for the bathroom and back on what was more wobbly legs than he'd admit. Judging by Janet's look as he gingerly tucked himself in, Daniel guessed that he hadn't ticked her box of being able to walk around freely just yet.

 

&&&&&

 

"I'm reduced to a bunch of ticky boxes," Daniel said with a half-hearted pout a while later when his friends were seated around his bed. Teal'c placed Daniel's tray with food down on the rollaway table and they all sat down to eat lunch.

"What do you mean?" Jack asked around his mouthful of sandwich. Daniel explained. Sam explained the concept to Cully and they laughed.

"So, how do you like Earth?" Daniel asked Cully when he'd managed to drink all his juice and half the bowl of applesauce and the others were nibbling at the remains of their meals.

"From what Teal'c and Major Carter have told me, it is amazing how large and varied your world is. To think it holds so many nations and peoples, and such a wide variety of nature, it is almost impossible to imagine."

"It's a very nice place," Daniel agreed. "Have you heard anything from Thor? I understand you've set up a daily communication with him while he fixes your ship."

"I spoke to him this morning. The repairs are progressing at a good pace. He sends his greetings."

"That's good," Daniel said, glad to hear of the progress. "So, what else is going on?"

"Nothing much," Jack said, leaning back and folding his hands behind his head. "We're basically waiting for you to get better so we can bring Cully with us back to Tubris and check out that Circle."

"What?" Daniel asked, confused.

"Sir," Sam said. "None of us have told Daniel about that yet."

"What?" Daniel asked, sitting up more fully, pushing his tray to the side, giving his team and Cully his full attention. "What haven't you told me?"

Jack and Cully explained about the talk with Tallis and what had happened to the Tuberous. Looking at Daniel, waiting for his inevitable questions, Jack couldn't help but smile when he saw Daniel was almost asleep. "Well, I guess storytime is over. We'll pick this up later once Mr. Ticky Boxes here can stay awake for more than ten minutes."

"It looks that way, yeah," Sam said. "Cully, why don't you join me and Teal'c and we can see if we can find some movies to show you."

"Movies?" Cully asked. "What are those?"

"We should show him Indiana Jones," Teal'c suggested as they left the infirmary, leaving Jack alone with Daniel and the empty trays. Sam laughed and Jack thought it was a great idea as long as they didn't tell Daniel. Daniel would want to watch them himself and tear them apart leaving a poor visiting dignitary completely confused about what was true and realistic what was fiction.

 

&&&&&

 

Two days later, Daniel was ready to be released from the infirmary. He had ticked all of Janet's boxes and was more than ready to be up and about. Cully had kept in regular contact with Thor, keeping them up to date on the progress of the repairs. Tallis had put together a group of their best people who had joined Thor aboard his ship for a more detailed discussion about what the Asgard and Tuberous could do. Cully had refrained from letting Tallis know too much about what he thought the Circulus to be. He didn't want to bring his hopes up too early as they were waiting for Daniel to recover and join them on their little excursion. It was enough for Tallis to know that Cully was learning more about Earth and its people. They too were now becoming allies, and Tallis hadn't even blinked when Cully wanted to stay longer. As Daniel recovered SG-1, Hammond and Cully discussed trade of technology and information. When a meal came around, they joined Daniel in the infirmary, bringing him up to speed and getting his input on the discussions as well as helpful hints on how to improve the treaty further.

Janet kept Daniel on base for another 48 hours just to be on the safe side, but as he was healing nicely and was in no pain aside from a mild soreness, she fully released him to light duty for another couple of days and then active duty. "Just stay away from the bad guys and avoid running and any extreme movements for another couple of weeks," she admonished as she ticked the last box on her chart.

"Promise," Daniel said, smiling. "I'll be good." He'd stayed on base if Janet hadn't asked him to, there was so much to show Cully and he needed the time to get fully ready to go off-world again.


	13. Chapter 13

PART THIRTEEN

 

Daniel looked up from the books he'd been showing Cully and took another sip of his coffee. For the last few days Cully had alternated between following each member of SG-1 around the base, especially Sam and Daniel. Daniel kept Cully busy with books about their culture and had in return got a language lesson with vocal recordings of how the Tuberous language was spoken. Cully also spent time during the daily communications with the people aboard his ship, helping further the details of the treaty between them and the Asgard. The week of downtime Janet had ordered went by like the blink of an eye. Earth's enemies stayed away, and Hammond was generous enough to reschedule SG-1's upcoming 30-click hike of a recon mission till after all was said and done with the current mission.

Daniel put his coffee down and looked at Cully. They were leaving for Tubris in the morning. "I really appreciate it, but I have to admit I was a little surprised that you wanted to wait with returning till I was well again. This is after all your world and your discovery. I'm sure you would have been able to come back to learn more about us at a later time. I doubt this is the last we'll see of each other."

Cully nodded. "I admit it is not something I would have done under different circumstances. However, this delay gave me the opportunity both to work further with the treaty with the Asgards and to learn more of your world. I would have been a fool to not take that chance when it presented itself. I am much impressed by the treaties you have brokered, and I've learned a great deal from you and the others. I am sorry you were ill, but I am happy that you are fully well again and able to join us now." Cully drank the rest of his soda, crushing the can and throwing it into Daniel's waste basket.

"As am I," Daniel said. "I didn't much like the idea of staying home while you got to go off with the rest of my team."

"Indeed. You are a tightly knit group. If I were in a similar situation I would have been sorry to be left behind as well." Cully smiled. "I have relished the opportunity to study your culture and your people, and I am very grateful for you and your leader granting me this chance."

"You're welcome. General Hammond's great that way," Daniel smiled. "He's a good man. Besides, your world and mine are friends now, and friends visit." Saluting Cully with his mug, Daniel drank the rest of the coffee and got up from his chair. "Come on. Let's see if the others are available to join us for some food. I'm hungry, are you?"

 

&&&&&

 

"Well, Daniel," Janet said as she finished Daniel's pre-mission exam. "Everything looks good. There's no residual infection in your stomach, your system is back on track and all your labs are clean. I'm sure Sam told you, but I can confirm that all the tests we did on the cylinder were negative." Janet closed Daniel's file and put it back on the table.

"Yeah, Sam told me." Daniel hopped down from the bed and put his BDU jacket back on.

"Told you what?" Sam asked as she entered the infirmary for her own pre-mission exam.

"That you and Janet did a few more tests on the cylinder," Daniel explained.

"Ah. They didn't show anything." Sam sat down on the bed closest to where Daniel was standing. "There weren't any traces of energy aside from the EMF, and as you saw yourself when we scanned it after it was activated, it didn't give of anything else than the EM frequency we'd already detected. Since that's on the same level as a computer and those aren't harmful to our health, we figured the cylinder isn't harmful either."

"So it didn't affect us in any way?"

"No," Sam let the nurse take some blood before continuing. "I can't see why it would make you sicker when it didn't affect any of the rest of us."

"Janet?" Daniel asked.

"She's right. Although you're not the typical candidate for cholelithiasis, it's not an illness exclusive to women. I couldn't find anything else that would explain the symptoms you had. I think you just got unlucky, Daniel."

"Lucky me," Daniel started to smile, but it turned into a grimace when he realised what a bad joke it was.

"Lucky you that we have Janet who could fix you," Sam smiled. "Unusual or not, I'm happy you're well again. You were in some serious pain there for a while."

"I know." Daniel ducked his head for a moment before smiling at Janet. "Thanks, Janet."

"You're welcome." Janet smiled warmly and patted his arm in a friendly gesture before going into bustling doctor mode again. "Now, if you don't mind," Janet continued, "I'd like to give Sam a quick once-over before you leave. Daniel we're done." Janet nodded towards the exit. "Just remember to take it easy."

"Will do. Sam, see you in a bit." Daniel gave Sam a small wave and left the infirmary.

 

&&&&&

 

The heat on Tubris was refreshing to a desert-loving Daniel after the days spent indoors in the recycled air of Cheyenne Mountain, and he gasped with the surprise of it. The wind was still whipping the sand around in strong gusts, yet there were no signs of approaching storm clouds. Daniel turned to look at Cully. "How does it feel to be back on Tubris?" Daniel asked.

"I have longed for this for a very long time. This is our original world. To think that we perhaps could live here once again, without fear of destruction or being chased like in the ancient murals! It would be wonderful." Cully smiled enthusiastically. "Let us not waste time and find the Circle."

"Can you find it?" Jack asked. "Tallis did say he hid it."

"Indeed. Tallis told me that everything is where it belongs when he agreed to let me come with you."

"So he trusts us now?"

"Yes," Cully said. "He believes you only have good intentions towards us. As do I."

They walked the short distance from the Stargate to the Circle. It was just where it had been when SG-1 had come here earlier. It was very early morning on Tubris now.

As they entered the partially destroyed room, Cully stopped in awe, looking at his surroundings with open-eyed enthusiasm. The sun had just appeared over the horizon and was bathing the walls in a soft glow.

"Here we are," Daniel took the cylinder out of his pack and handed it to Cully.

"Why don't you put it here and see what happens?" Sam suggested, walking over to the wall where the crevice was.

Cully nodded and walked with a mixture of trepidation and excitement over to the placement holder. Lifting the Circulus he put it into the wall. The brightly glowing symbols that spelled Tamram's name started blinking and the whole thing lit up and the Circulus disappeared into the wall. They waited for a bit but nothing more immediately happened.

Thinking about the conversation she'd had with Janet and Daniel in the infirmary, Sam brought her scanner out and scanned the placement holder and the area around it to see if anything came up. "Everything looks good. There's no radiation of any kind."

"What now?" Jack looked at Sam who shrugged and put her scanner back into her pocket.

"I do not know," Cully said. "As I said earlier, we have no documentation of exactly what would happen once the Circulus was attached to this wall. It is likely that it was passed down from generation to generation as is our custom with valuable items. As we do not know exactly when it was lost, it is presumed that the keeper of the Circulus was entrusted with this task in deepest secret, and thus very few knew who kept it. It is also unlikely that anyone knows who lost it. Unless, of course, it was stolen and then lost."

"Yeah, that is possible," Daniel said. "If it was a known artifact from your past and supposed to release a great power of some kind, then someone might have figured out a way to find the keeper and take the Circulus."

"You're sure that the only thing needed for the Circulation to work is the Circulus connected to the wall, that there's no other technology needed?" Sam asked.

"Yes. You need only activate the Circulus and place it in the holder."

"So it should work even if the Circle is in ruins?"

"I believe so, yes." Cully said, "As far as I know there is no record of anything else being required to make it work."

"What do you want to happen?" Daniel asked while they waited.

"I would like for it to be a cloak that covers our world and prevents anyone from attacking us; or even better, something that can destroy Anubis."

"Was this Tamram or whoever built the Circulation able to do that? Do you have powers that advanced?"

"I do not think so." Cully shook his head.

"Is it likely that there is a bio-toxin involved somehow?" Sam asked. "I've used all the equipment I have and I can't detect anything even remotely dangerous here."

"It's what the stories say, but I do not know. I am beginning to doubt it," Cully frowned at the drawings his ancestors had made. "I am starting to think it is an illusion."

"You seem to be good at illusions," Daniel said, studying the drawings as well.

"Yes, it has been our way for many years. I am wondering if perhaps this potential toxin is a cover for something else. These drawings are not very helpful." Cully looked at Daniel for confirmation.

Just as Daniel was about to answer something happened that caused them all to turn their heads and look in the opposite direction of where they were standing.

"What is that?" Sam asked, looking at the dark shape that had appeared on the horizon.

SG-1 peered into the early morning gloom and started to walk towards whatever it was that now rose up from the earth a little ways from the ruins.

"It's the Circulation!" Cully exclaimed, rushing forward only to be held back by Sam's quick reflexes. "It has to be."

"How can you know?" Daniel asked.

"I do not, but what else can it be? I have never seen this before and although it is not rendered in any drawing it must have been released by the Circulus." Cully sprang forth, rushing ahead of SG-1.

"We don't know what that thing is yet. Let us go first. If there's something there that shouldn't be there we're armed and capable of handling it, you're not." Jack grabbed Cully by the arm to stop him from running too far ahead.

Reluctantly Cully nodded and stepped back a little to walk beside Daniel.

"But what is it?" Jack asked, impatiently when it seemed like forever for the thing to appear.

"Something is appearing through the earth," Teal'c said. "I believe it to be a weapon."

"What if it's the container for the supposed bio-toxin?" Sam asked, going over the containers she had in her pack, wondering if any of them were capable of storing whatever they might find.

"I think it holds the ultimate answer to Life, the Universe and Everything," Daniel said tersely. "Come on, let's go check it out." He was eager to figure out what this thing was. Even though Daniel knew it'd only been a couple of weeks, it felt like they'd chased the Tuberous around the galaxy for forever.

Jack snorted, and Daniel glared at him. "What?"

"You really think it's the ultimate answer?" Jack asked.

"No, of course not," Daniel was getting irritated with all the uncertainty. A little calmer he added, "I'm just tired of guessing. I've been cooped up in bed for several days listening to you guys talk about what you experienced. I just want a piece of the action too, now that Janet's finally released me."

"I guess that's fair," Jack agreed, pretending he had to think about it before answering.

"Thank you." Daniel said somewhat sarcastically and turned his attention to what was being displayed before them.

As they walked closer, they could clearly see that it had been hiding deep down in the desert sands, beyond the reach of any scans or other equipment except a shovel and a lot of hard work. "It looks like a pyramid," Daniel said, more to himself than anything, but Sam heard and reached over to Daniel who was walking at her side, putting a hand to his forehead and tsk'd good-naturally. "You're still feverish. You're seeing things."

"No I'm not." Daniel pushed her hand away, shrugging. "It does look like a pyramid. See, it's pointy." The thing was pyramid…ish in shape, albeit a somewhat lopsided one. And it was pointy.

The thing that now had fully appeared from the ground was more like a building than anything else. It was about twenty feet high. The outer surface of what Cully was sure was the Circulation shone, as if it was metallic, unlike any other building on this planet, which had mostly been made of dirt or bricks. Even the Circle was a brick building and had no outer coating like the metallic hue of the supposed Circulation.

"This piece doesn't fit with the rest of the puzzle," Jack said, stopping at the bottom of the structure and looking up at it.

"I know," Daniel said, frowning and pursing his lips while thinking. "Cully, all your architecture mostly has a rounded structure but this thing is definitely not…round." Daniel shone his flashlight at the building.

Cully nodded, "I have never seen anything like it. This is obviously not of Tuberous design. Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"Yes," Daniel said. "Well, not exactly like this, but very close."

"What is it?"

"I don't know yet," Daniel said, shaking his head. "It could be anything."

"It doesn't look quite like a Ha'tak," Sam commented. "It's too small, but it sure does resemble one."

"What's that?" Cully asked.

Sam only shook her head. "I'll explain later."

Daniel shone his flashlight across the surface. It was still bathed in shadow as the sun was yet very low in the sky. "There's not much writing on the surface." Daniel rooted through his pack for a pen and paper. "I've seen something like this before. I need to copy it down." Looking to Teal'c he added. "Could you give me my camera, please?"

"I will do the filming for you, DanielJackson," Teal'c said. "You must not overly tax yourself."

Daniel looked surprised but when Teal'c didn't back down, he nodded. "I feel just fine, but thanks. You need to use the flash. We should wait for full daylight, but I'd like some initial shots. You probably should use the monopod to keep it stable, get clearer footage." Daniel started drawing an outline of the building in his note book, already engrossed in his work.

"DanielJackson, I know how to operate the camera," Teal'c said patiently, bringing the equipment out of Daniel's pack.

"Yes, I know you do. Sorry, I—"

"Get carried away when excited," Teal'c finished for him, smiling a little.

Daniel smiled back and ducked his head, a little embarrassed. Shaking off the embarrassment he walked closer to the pyramid-ish shaped Circulation. "Thank you."

"You are most welcome," Teal'c said and set to work filming the Circulation.

"There's a way in over there," Jack said, cocking his head to indicate the far side of the…building, thing, whatever the Circulation actually was. He and Sam had walked around the building from opposite directions while Daniel and Teal'c talked about the camera.

Waiting while Teal'c finished filming the wall according to Daniel's instructions, Daniel and Teal'c together with Cully walked over to the entrance. It was locked.

"Cully?" Daniel asked. "Do you know how to open this?" The door was a set of two huge doors each divided into sections with symbols on, something like the Ziggurat SG-1 and the Russian team had explored a couple of years earlier. Daniel shuddered at the thought of what had happened then and hoped there were no monsters hiding within the Circulation, Goa'uld or otherwise. The design of this thing did indicate differently though, and Daniel mentally crossed his fingers that they would find it empty once they got the doors opened.

Cully started to shake his head but stopped. "I think I do. It is a combination lock. See these symbols?" He indicated a series of symbols in one of the sections of the door. "They tell an ancient story of our past, about how a primitive population became suddenly wise and knowledgeable in the development of their technology thanks to an ingenious scientist in their midst. It looks like Tamram had something of an ego. This is of Tamram's design, and knowing him and our past as I do, I shall be able to open this. This is the Circulation."

"Sam, could you hand me my pack? I need to take some notes," Daniel asked, looking over at Sam who was standing a little behind them, looking at the doors to see if there was some other way to open them. Taking Daniel's pack she walked over to Daniel and Cully and handed Daniel his pack. "Think you can open this?"

"I'm confident if he's confident," Daniel smiled. "Thanks." Taking out another notebook from the pack, Daniel started to draw a rough sketch of the doors as his mind worked on figuring out the puzzle of the story and which section to press first. Beside him, Cully mumbled to himself, clearly going through his people's ancient history in his head.

After a little while Jack started heating some MREs and called the others over when they were done. "You've got to eat," he said when Daniel just shook his head as Jack handed him a MRE. "Daniel!" Jack demanded.

Daniel sighed in irritation. "Okay. I guess I could eat. It's just that this part is really interesting."

"Ah!" Jack interrupted. "Eat first then you can translate." Jack waved the meal in front of Daniel. "It's not like this thing is going anywhere."

Taking the MRE from Jack, Daniel sat down with the others a little ways from the Circulation, where Jack had made camp among some large stones that made for natural seats at the bottom of a sand dune. They were almost ready to open the Circulation. Cully had managed to figure out what kind of combination of symbols to press so all they had to do was open the door when they were done eating. Taking a few sips of water Daniel started to explain the ingenuity of MREs to Cully, who had only watched the others eat up to this point, mesmerised by this strange food, his own ration untouched by his feet until Daniel explained what to do with it.

 

&&&&&

 

A loud and ominous grating sound could be heard as the doors to the Circulation opened. Sam walked forward, her P90 ready, the flashlight on. Walking forward she entered the chamber inside first, checking it out for any potential dangers before allowing Cully and Daniel, who'd also drawn his gun, to enter. "We're clear," Sam said.

The doors opened up to a single large chamber that seemed to account for the entire space inside of the Circulation's outer walls. The chamber was empty except for one large piece of machinery that seemed to take up most of the space within the chamber. There were no other exits or rooms visible, no lights that came on when the entered and no windows. Sam started looking for the light switch but couldn't find any and Jack and Teal'c both scanned the room with the flashlights, finding nothing but smooth walls. The door closed behind them, but as soon as Teal'c turned back to it to see if it would open again, it did, sliding away smoothly. At least they weren't trapped. There was always that, Sam thought, focusing on the machinery taking up almost all of the space.

"Uh, guys," Daniel said, "You'd better come take a look at this." While the others checked the Circulation for dangers, he had walked over to the device filling the room and started studying it. It wasn't what he'd hoped to find.

"What is it?" Jack asked, walking over to where Daniel stood.

"Cully, do you know anything about who Tamram was?" Daniel asked, seemingly out of nowhere.

"I don't understand?" Cully said.

"Well, if he really was the one who made this, I don't think he was who he appeared to be."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked cautiously, staring at Daniel. Don't suggest anything you can't back up.

Daniel frowned I know at Jack and nodded at Cully. "Answer the question. What do you know about Tamram?"

"That he was one of our first scientists and that he created a lot of wonderful things for us, like the Circulus, the Circle and the Circulation."

"I should have thought about this earlier," Daniel said. "I'm sorry that I didn't, but I think Tamram is a pseudonym Anubis used when he walked among the Tuberous as a pretend scientist."

"What makes you say that?" Sam asked. "I've never traced any sign of Goa'uld influence on either the Circulus or in the Circle." She brought her equipment out and started to scan the inside of the Circulation. "There are traces of naquada here but it's not very strong."

"That is why I didn't think of it earlier. Anubis uses the Ancients' technology and their oldest, most archaic dialects when he creates something. But who's to say he hasn't used the technology, language and science of a population other than the Ancients to reach whatever goal he wanted? Also, Tamram lived among these people thousands of years ago. Who's to say Anubis started to use the Ancients' technology that early? He was a regular old Goa'uld before he figured out how to ascend, remember."

"Oh, I don't know about regular," Jack said sarcastically.

No one bothered to answer him, the silence following Daniel's revelation deafening.

"You're kidding, right?" Jack said after a little while had passed and no one had said anything else. Cully looked shocked and Teal'c was as unreadable as ever. Carter looked just like Jack felt, completely and utterly surprised. "T?"

"I have known the Goa'uld to use the technology of the people they enslaved to further assure their destruction if they did not do the false god's bidding," Teal'c said. "As this is different from any other structure on this world, I believe it was created to be revealed after the secrecy of the creator's identity was no longer necessary."

"Daniel?" Jack said in a commanding tone. Daniel had crouched down at the base of whatever it was that filled the room. Jack thought it looked like a weapon, something like the ion canons on Tollana, just smaller and with more protrusions, as if this thing was several ion canons in one. It didn't look like any of the other machines they'd seen on this mission.

"I know, Jack. I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't think it was possible. The story on the door tells of a scientist with the same kind of attitude we've seen the Goa'uld have. They're nothing if not egotistical."

"Carter, is this thing active?" Jack asked. He wanted to get to the bottom of what Daniel suggested, but first they had to figure out if the Circulation was a threat or not. It probably was if Daniel was right, but Jack had to make sure.

"No, I don't think so, sir. And I don't detect any radiation. I'd hoped I'd get an EMF read on the same frequency as the Circulus but either it's not here or there isn't one." Sam had been walking around the device, looking at it from every angle. "There is a control panel here, though." She touched something on the far side of the device and a panel opened.

The writing the panel revealed was nothing like the Tuberous' language, which Sam thought confirmed Daniel's theory further.

"Cully?" Daniel asked, crouching down in front of the panel. "You recognise any of this?"

Cully shook his head. "How can Tamram have made this?" he asked. "Didn't he possess the gene after all?"

"I don't think so, no. He probably pretended to have it to not stick out among your people. And especially since he pretended to be a scientist, he had to keep up the pretence, since what he obviously made wasn't something you would be able to make of your own. He hid the Circulation well, but he probably never thought he wouldn't be around to activate it." Daniel pointed at the writing within the panel. "It's Goa'uld, a very old dialect. Also, this explains why your language is hieroglyphic. There's no evidence in what I've seen of the ruins of Trusla or what you've told me to indicate your people being of Ancient Egyptian origin, but Tamram being Anubis might have had some influence on its development by introducing the symbols to you when he started making things."

Cully nodded. "Yes, it is believed that Tamram had a hand in developing our language."

"So we've been wrong the entire time," Sam said, sounding very much defeated. "The 'woe to thee' warning was really so that Cully's ancestors should keep away, the vagueness was because he didn't want to reveal that he was the one they really should fear. If it's of Goa'uld design, it's probably a weapon that's either booby-trapped or set to go off with some hidden switch. That could also be why Anubis has returned here so many times: he wants to use it."

"Which is why we shouldn't fiddle around with this thing any more," Jack said.

"But we can't leave it like this now, someone might come and find it, and...."

"And do what, Carter?"

"We're so close to figuring it out. Cully doesn't know, no one of his people knows what this is. Unless Thor beams down we're the only ones who can figure it out," Sam said.

"What about Jama?" Daniel asked, remembering the man they'd met on Tuberous. "He knew how to operate their technology. He knows of Anubis. Could he have dome something to this device?"

"I don't think so," Sam said, receiving a confirming nod from Cully. "Tallis evicted him back to Tuberous as soon as he found him here. I don't think he would have known how to find this place. He didn't have the cylinder and without that he wouldn't be able to get access to this place."

"He knew we have it and he did want it," Daniel said.

"Yes but if he did know what to do with it don't you think he'd made more of an effort to steal it from us?"

"Major Carter is correct," Cully said. "Jama might be a criminal and have enough knowledge to activate the Circulus and reprogram our equipment, but he would not willingly steer Anubis' attention towards us."

"You believe he's back on Tuberous?" Daniel asked. "Tallis can have him sent there, even if he can't do it telepathically?"

"Yes, Tallis was true to his word. He might not have the gene, but he can use others who have it to do his bidding. I've seen it before. When we are done here I will contact him and see if there is a way for us to let Jama live among us again. His punishment is in my opinion unjustly cruel."

"I thought you couldn't use that gene unless it was to benefit your people?" Jack asked.

"That is the intention, yes, but apparently not everyone thinks the same things benefit our people. I sometimes believe life would be easier for us did we not have it. We might not be as technologically advanced, but we would live truer lives."

"That is a noble wish, but I don't think you'd get rid of all your problems that way. In all civilizations there are people who wish things differently for their people than those in government do. Its part of living in a democratic society," Daniel said. "It's better than being subdued into slavery by Anubis, don't you think?"

"Indeed," Cully said, nodding gravely.

"I'm glad you're looking into ways of helping Jama," Daniel said before he turned back to the device.

"Don't turn it on!" Jack warned when Daniel leaned closer to get a better look.

"We won't," Sam said, crouching down beside Daniel who now was looking at the panel Sam had revealed earlier.

"Teal'c, I need your help to translate this," Daniel said as Sam and Jack discussed.

Crouching down by the panel, Teal'c looked at the writing, frowning in displeasure. "It is most difficult."


	14. Chapter 14

PART FOURTEEN

 

“I think we’ve finally figured it out,” Daniel said after working for a while. “It’s another combination lock.”

“Do you know what combination to press?” Cully asked. He had been watching SG-1 work from the sidelines, clearly not wanting to be in the way yet wanting to take part in solving this mystery.

“No. I just figured it was a combination lock.”

“Let me see,” Sam said. “I think I’ve seen something like this before.”

Daniel stepped back and walked over to the wall to sit down beside Cully. Aside from the slight pull if he moved in a way his healing body wasn’t all that happy with, he was perfectly fine. His mind, however, was a restless whirlwind, working almost despite his will to try to find any more proof of Tamram being Anubis. It all depended on what the Circulation did or was if it was activated.

While the others had worked on the panel, Jack had studied the walls, looking for hidden rooms or anything else that Anubis might have hidden. After having done a circuit of the room, he stopped in one of the corners. There was something there. The Circulus had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and was starting to hum with the sound of electricity. “Hey,” Jack called but it was all he managed to say before a wall started to slide back and revealed a narrow room at the very back. Lifting his gun, ready to fire if need be, Jack sensed without having to look that the others were by his side, their weapons raised too, Daniel guarding Cully with both his body and his Beretta.

The wall revealed a narrow room filled with equipment that Daniel immediately saw was a lab filled with Ancient equipment that could not have belonged to anyone else but Anubis.

“So, sir,” Sam said, when they found the lab too to be empty. “How about this piece, does that fit with the rest of the puzzle?”

“Yeah,” Jack said. “I guess we can safely assume this is where Anubis did his experiments on Cully’s forefathers.”

“I think so, yes,” Sam agreed. As Jack stepped into the room, the lights came on, and they were able to see both the lab and the outer room more clearly. As he walked around, machines started to light up, but nothing else happened. Daniel walked over to one of the little handheld computers that were lying on one of the tables, finding the scrolling device by its side.

“Find anything?” Sam asked, standing to read over Daniel’s shoulder.

“Not much. I actually think this thing is empty. There’s nothing here. Have you heard of the storage space on one of these ever actually being used up?” Daniel handed Sam the small computer and the scroller.

“No, I haven’t. But it’s likely. See if you can find any more of them. Maybe he didn’t get around to start on this one.”

“Cully,” Jack said, expecting the man to enlighten them, but the poor guy was looking like fish out of water, open-mouthed blinking with huge, staring eyes. Jack shook him a little. “Cully!”

“I-I do not know,” Cully said, pulling himself together. Jack sighed. “I have never seen a place like this.”

“Nothing here is working,” Sam said after they’d thoroughly searched the lab and she’d deemed it safe for Jack to start pushing buttons.

“And there’s no research material left,” Daniel chimed in. “Usually when we find a Goa’uld’s lab, there’s something left, some sign of them having worked here. I think Anubis either didn’t finish building this, or he didn’t get around to starting working here.”

“So there might be another lab around?” Jack asked.

“I don’t know,” Daniel said, shaking his head.

“I know why this place is so empty,” Sam said. “This is Ancient technology, right, and Anubis must have made some trials and errors before he got it right the first time. Perhaps this is the first lab he built, and somehow he couldn’t get it to work, so he built a new one.”

“Yes,” Daniel said. “He did walk around on this planet as a scientist long before he attempted to ascend. What bothers me, though, is that if he was considered a scientist and worked alongside your ancestors, Cully, wouldn’t they have caught on to what was happening if he suddenly started to experiment with them?”

“I suppose so,” Cully said. “They would have rioted, I’m sure, but there is not much saved from those times in terms of documents or writing.

“Or,” Daniel said, “Anubis, or Tamram, could easily fool them into believing that it was for their own good, trick them somehow. We’ve seen it before. The Goa’uld can live for thousands of years, and as time went by, maybe it became something of a rite of passage for your ancestors to be treated in this lab. If Tamram was a valued scientist, it might not have been seen as a threat at all.”

“It would probably have been an honour,” Sam added. Cully nodded dumbly, stumbling over his words, muttering to himself as he started to take in what actually had happened to his ancestors. Sam put a comforting hand on his shoulder. “If it’s any consolation, yours is just one of many peoples Anubis has mistreated.”

“So,” Jack said, looking at his team. “What do we do now? I say we blow this place to smithereens. I can’t risk us activating it unless we’re one hundred percent sure what it is and what it does.”

“I’m with you,” Sam said. “If this is Anubis construction we don’t want anyone to find it and use it.”

“I don’t think that’s our decision to make,” Daniel said. “Cully should inform his people of what we’ve found. Nothing here works, the lab is basically harmless. Unless they’re hiding an Anubis-wannabe amongst themselves, there’s no chance they will be able to make it work again. I’m sure Thor won’t help them destroy it if they decide on that.”

“Daniel’s right,” Sam said, sighing. “As much as I’d like to see this place destroyed, it’s not our place to decide.”

“What about those Jaffa that was here? We’ve never found out why they stuck around.”

“I don’t know, sir,” Sam shrugged. “I think they didn’t find what they were looking for.”

“What if they were looking for this place? If they were Anubis’ Jaffa and he’s keeping an eye on the planet, we can’t leave it like this. Anubis might want to come back and continue where he left off. And what about Jama? You don’t suppose he is this potential wannabe?” Jack asked.

“Why would he want to destroy his entire people?” Daniel asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, revenge?” Jack said ironically.

“We are not a vengeful people,” Cully chimed in, defending his people. “From what I know of this Jama, I do not believe he would go to such lengths.”

“Anubis did kidnap his family,” Sam reminded them.

“Indeed. He has been the sole survivor of his planet for hundreds of years,” Teal’c said. “I would not put it past him.”

“Remember, he would need the Circulus to get access to this place,” Daniel said, gesticulating at his usual frantic pace, defending Jama. “I think we can rule Jama out and put all the blame on Anubis himself.”

“Fine. We don’t have a lot of time here,” Jack said, getting a sour look from Teal’c who clearly was not agreeing to all this talking and no blowing up. Jack could understand Teal’c’s wish to blow it to pieces, but it wasn’t their say. Unless… “Cully? What do you think we should do? We have enough explosives with us to blow this place if you want.”

“Dr. Jackson is right. I cannot and will not decide for my people in this matter. It must be discussed further,” Cully said. “I appreciate your input. If it is true, as you say, that Anubis is the one who sent Jaffa here, we must decide quickly before he comes back and claims the Circulation for his own.”

“You have got to be kidding me,” Jack exclaimed. “This is a potentially lethal weapon. For all we know this thing’s designed to blow the entire planet to bits. And you want to sit around and talk about it?”

“I am sorry, but yes.” Jack was in Cully’s face, but Cully didn’t back down. “It is our planet, our weapon, our discovery. You’ve done a great deal to help us with revealing the Circulation and we are thankful for that. But we too have scientists that can determine what this device does and based on that knowledge we can decide if we would like to destroy it or not.”

“I’m sure you do,” Jack said. “But they’re not as good as my people,” he mumbled, flicking his eyes at the members of his team. Teal’c inclined his head, Daniel blushed and Sam beamed.

“Actually, sir, they have some pretty advanced technology and science aboard their ship. If they want to figure it out, I’m sure they can.” Sam smiled encouragingly at Cully.

Jack looked disbelievingly at Sam. “You’re not helping. I know they’re advanced, more so than us, but we’ve been around this barbeque a few times.”

“O’Neill is right. I do not believe you should discuss this matter much further. Explain to your people what we have discovered and let us destroy it for you. We have much practice with this,” Teal’c argued.

Daniel looked at Cully. “You know what you’re asking of us here? We don’t discover an ancient weapon and leave without disarming it. Look, I more than anyone wished this was some great discovery, something good for your people, something you could treasure. But it isn’t. It is very dangerous. Sitting around and talking about it will only delay the inevitable. I too would want to study it, find out as much as possible before deciding what to do. I’m an historian, you’ve seen that. But I’ve been out there, fighting the Goa’uld for many years now. I know this isn’t as good as it looks. You would want us to destroy it now.”

“I am sorry. I cannot and will not decide for my people what to do. I stand by my words.” Cully crossed his arms and looked defiantly at SG-1.

“Okay. For your sake I hope Anubis doesn’t arrive while you sit around and talk.” Jack walked over to where Teal’c was pacing by the entrance, looking ready to burst. “There’s nothing more for us to do here. Come on, kids, let’s go.” Damn, Jack thought, his instincts telling him to just blow the thing up and be done with it.

“Hold on a second. What if it releases a bio-toxin like you thought?” Daniel asked Sam. “Won’t blowing it up release it?”

“Without knowing exactly what Anubis did in that lab I can’t say anything for certain, but to me this device looks more like an energy weapon than a delivery system for a biological toxin. I can’t say with hundred percent certainty, but I don’t think blowing it up will release any toxins. Sir, it needs to be studied further if anything is to be determined for certain. We should stay and help them.”

Pulling his cap from his head Jack rubbed his hands through his hair Jack sighed. “What’s the point, Carter? They’ve decided to talk about it. Until they decide there’s nothing more for us to do here. Now can we leave, before it blows up while we sit around and talk?”

“We leave,” Daniel agreed. “I hate to admit it, Jack, but the Tuberous is an advanced society. It’s their choice. We’ve revealed it, and now it’s up to them to decide what to do with it. They know where to find us if they want our help.”

“Okay people, move out,” Jack said decisively, quickly getting ready to leave, stopping in the middle of clipping his P90 into place, listening to a sudden high-pitched whine coming from somewhere in the outer room.

“What is that sound?” Cully asked, looking from one member of SG-1 to the other, clearly frightened.

“It’s the device,” Sam said. “It’s become active.”

“Carter, Daniel, go get our stuff,” Jack said. “Teal’c, we’re heading out. Take point. Cully, go with him. I want us out of harm’s way sooner rather than later. If this thing is going to blow, we don’t want to be around to see just how big an explosion it’ll be.”

“What about the Circulus?” Cully asked, looking around for the cylindrical device.

“What about it?” Daniel was busy fastening his pack and didn’t immediately look up.

“It’s gone.” Cully looked defeated. “I had expected to find it here.”

“It’s here,” Sam said, pointing to a slot in the centre of the Circulation as she retrieved her scanner. “It must be a key as well. It looks like it’s connected to the power source. I wouldn’t want to remove it. It could be a trap or the self-destruct mechanism.”

“That makes sense,” Daniel said. “It serves as the creator’s signature. Those who could translate the scroll and knew how to use it would learn the true secrets of this place. I wouldn’t want to try to remove it either.” He turned to Cully. “I’m sorry.”

“I understand.”

“Uh, sir,” Sam said just as they exited the Circulation. “My scanner confirms there’s naquada in the Circulation. It must have activated on its own when we opened the panel. It’s charging. This has to be some form of weapon that’s either preprogrammed to shoot at a specific target or is self-destructing. We’d better get out of here.” Sam keyed the communicator at the same time as a low whine could be heard. “Thor, can you beam us aboard?”

All she received was static.

“Do your ship have some way of beaming you directly aboard?” Jack asked urgently, looking at Cully.

Cully shook his head. “We have not progressed that far in our technology yet.” But still you want to study it yourselves and not let more experienced people deal with it, Jack thought, mentally shaking his head.

The whine got louder and the protruding parts of the device slowly started to move outwards. “Cully, you’re with us,” Jack said. “We can call Thor when we get back to Earth. Let’s go!”

“It’s probably the device, sir. I’m sure it’s emitting some form of jamming signal so we can’t communicate. Remember, Thor had trouble scanning this place in the first place, so it’s likely Thor can’t see our life-signs anymore, either,” Sam explained as they hurried to leave.

As they ran, the whine from the Circulation got louder, rising in pitch and causing the ground to shake. When they reached the Gate, Sam handed Cully her pack and dialled and Teal’c pressed their IDC the moment the wormhole opened.

“We’re coming through and we’re bringing Cully back with us. No time to explain,” Jack yelled into the radio. Watching as the others ran into the wormhole, he took a quick look around before running after them.

 

&&&&&

 

“Close the iris,” Jack breathlessly ordered as soon as they’d all stepped through the wormhole. “We need to dial back, sir,” he added, turning to General Hammond.

“Do it!” Hammond ordered and the iris closed. “Why do we need to redial?” he asked, coming to stand at the bottom of the ramp as his premiere team stumbled down into the Gateroom.

“There is a big, honking space gun on that planet and I think we inadvertently just activated it.”

“What?” Hammond boomed. “Colonel, care to explain?”

“Yes, sir,” Jack said, explaining in short what they had found.

“Dial the Gate,” Hammond said, when Jack was done. Looking at SG-1, Hammond nodded to the medics who were standing by the entrance. Teal’c was supporting Daniel with an arm around his waist. Daniel was bent over, his own arms wrapped around his middle, his face scrunched up tight. “Get him to the infirmary,” Hammond ordered as they gathered around the stricken man.

“I’m fine, sir,” Daniel said, calming his breathing and looking at General Hammond, standing up straight, nodding his thanks to Teal’c who let go of Daniel and stepped back. The running had left him breathless and the exercise pulled at his healing abdomen, making his incisions ache and the healing scars pinch his still somewhat tender flesh.

“Go,” Jack urged gently. “You look like you’ve pulled something. Get Fraiser to check you out; then you can join us in the briefing room.”

The Gate stopped spinning. “I can’t get a lock, sir,” Walter said from the Control room once the dialling sequence was finished.

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Sam said. “You’d better get in touch with Thor. I just hope he saw what happened and comes here to find out.”

Hammond nodded and turned to Walter. “Do it.” Turning back to SG-1 and their visitor, he said, “Now you’d better explain a few things. Let’s continue this in the briefing room. You can report to the infirmary when we’re done.”

At that moment Janet rushed into the room and looked everyone over, quickly honing in on Daniel who was sitting on the gurney. “What happened?”

“Oh, I just pulled at my wounds when running. It’s over now. Your friends here,” he gesticulated to the waiting medics, “seems to think I need to be horizontal to get to the infirmary but I can walk. Apparently we’re not waiting for your verdict on what I can and can’t do before we move,” Daniel crossed his arms over his chest and looked expectantly at Janet. “Oh, and I just checked, I’m not bleeding.” He pointed to his untucked t-shirt.

Janet lifted Daniel’s shirt to see for herself. “You’re right. You’re not bleeding. But I’d rather err on the side of caution and not have you walking till I’ve seen exactly what is going on,” Janet said dismissively and Daniel complied, leaning back towards the upraised headboard on the gurney.

 

&&&&&

 

“Major Carter, what do you think happened?” Hammond asked once they all were seated in the briefing room.

“From the force of the pulsation we felt in ground as we ran, I believe the device we found was destroyed. Since we can’t get a lock it is safe to assume that something is wrong with the ‘Gate on 552. It might have been destroyed in the explosion.”

“What?” Cully stammered in shock. “Could it do that?”

“I’m sorry, but yes, I think so. It felt like a big explosion. It’s not the first time we’ve experienced something like this so I don’t see why not. If Anubis created the Circulation he would want to put safeguards in place so it couldn’t be tampered with. Apparently we tampered with it.”

“But we didn’t do anything,” Jack argued.

“Actually, sir, we did just by being there.”

“It was a booby trap?”

“It looks that way yes,” Sam said, sighing. “Cully, I’m sorry. It looks like destruction was the only choice.”

“We cannot be sure of what has happened,” Teal’c said. “Someone must fly over the planet and ascertain what has taken place. I will alert Bra’tac of the situation.”

“I’ll contact the Tok’ra, sir,” Sam said. “They should be able to fly over Tubris relatively soon. According to our latest intelligence, they have several ships in that area of the galaxy.”

“Excellent,” Hammond agreed. “I’ll let you know as soon as we hear from Thor.”

Cully looked shocked. “What about our ship?” he asked fearfully. “Can we contact them?”

“Thor can help us with that. Do you still have the communicator he gave you?” Sam asked.

“I do.”

“Okay, people,” Hammond said. “Get in touch with our allies as quickly as possible so we can get some answers. In the meantime, I suggest you all take the time to swing by the infirmary and get checked out. We meet again as soon as we hear something. Cully, you are welcome to stay with us while we work things out.”

“Thank you,” Cully said flatly. “You are most kind.”

“I’ll get started on getting us some answers and meet you in the infirmary,” Sam said as they all rose from their chairs.

“Come on,” Jack said, putting an arm around a shocked Cully’s shoulders. “Let’s get checked out and see how Daniel’s doing.”

 

&&&&&

 

“Hey,” Daniel greeted from his bed when he spotted Jack, Cully and Teal’c as they entered the infirmary. “I was just about to come to you.”

“Did Fraiser release you?” Jack asked.

“Almost. I hadn’t pulled anything, but I’m apparently not to do any running for a little while longer. I’m waiting for some blood to be taken, and then I’m good to go.” Daniel came over to where Jack had steered Cully down to sit on one of the beds. Teal’c sat down on the bed opposite them, paying no attention the nurse performing his exam, his gaze on Cully and Daniel.

“Great. Carter is trying to get some answers for us. I only hope that nothing happened to your ship and that Thor saw what happened,” Jack said, bending around the nurse that was standing in front of him, trying to attach a blood pressure cuff to his arm.

“I am sorry,” Daniel said, sitting down beside Cully on the bed. “We did not know this would happen.”

“I understand,” Cully said, looking between Jack and Daniel. “You have powerful allies if you are friends with the Rebel Jaffa and the Tok’ra as well as the Asgard. Together we will find out what happened.”

“We are very lucky. They’re your friends now, too. The treaty assures that.” Daniel looked at Cully with an earnest expression, giving him a comforting pat on the arm.

“Gentlemen,” Janet interrupted their conversation, “if you would be so kind as to roll up your sleeves?” Jack, Teal’c and Daniel immediately did as Janet asked but Cully looked at her questioningly.

“She wants to draw some blood to make sure you’ve not caught anything that could make you sick,” Daniel explained.

“Ah,” Cully did as he was told and Janet quickly set to work drawing their blood and labelling the vials.

“I’ll let you know as soon as I get the results. Dr. Jackson, you’re released. Colonel, I’d like you, Teal’c and Cully to stay a little while longer. We have a few more tests to run on you.”

“Thanks, Janet. I’ll go see how things are progressing with Sam,” Daniel said, jumping down from the bed and putting his BDU shirt back on. “See you all later.”

 

&&&&&

 

“Hi, Sam. Any word yet?” Daniel asked as soon as he entered the control room.

Sam shook her head. “Not yet, I’m afraid.”

Filling two mugs with coffee, Daniel came over to her and handed Sam one of the mugs before taking an appreciative drink of his own coffee. “Maybe we should start looking into relocation?” he asked, taking a chair to sit down beside Sam at the control panels.

“That’s not a bad idea. They are living on a ship, and from what I could guess without anyone actually telling me so, I don’t think the people are very happy about it. When Teal’c and I went to talk to the scientists to see if there was anything we could do to help, I got the impression that they weren’t very happy, aside from the ship being in need of repair, of course.”

“So you’re saying they might agree to this without much convincing?”

“I think so, yes. We can start with offering it to Cully and see what he thinks. He seems like a good man.” Sam took a drink of her own coffee and looked expectantly at the screens again.

Daniel nodded, thinking the whole thing through. If they were the ones living on a ship travelling through the galaxy, living in hiding, he’d want to find somewhere safe to live as quickly as possible. The universe was vast, and there had to be somewhere the Tuberous could live in peace for the rest of their existence. Of course, there was the problem of transplanting them in secret. The Goa’uld had eyes and ears on many planets, and although the Tuberous would be protected under the Asgard’s Protected Planets Treaty, Daniel knew they couldn’t guarantee complete safety for the remainder of time. Cully and his people were intelligent beings, though, and if they worked together with the Asgard, Daniel was positive they could come up with some means of protecting them… unless, of course, SG-1 or someone else managed to destroy Anubis and nip the whole thing in the bud, so to speak. “Are there any potential new worlds for them that we know of now?” Taking another drink, he decided they could just as well start looking now. If there were any available planets in their computer system, they would have something more than a theory to present to Cully.

“I’ll check,” Sam said, starting to go through the database. “It shouldn’t be too difficult to find them a new place to live.”

“We could ask the Gadmeer,” Jack said from behind them. Sam and Daniel had been too intent on looking at the computer screen that they hadn’t heard him coming.

Daniel turned around on his chair to look at Jack. “Why do you suggest that? You know we can’t contact them. We can’t even breathe the air on their planet!”

“I know that, but Tallis said they’d been in contact with them before and that they had looked for suitable planets for them.” Jack looked at Cully, indicating with a nod for him to elaborate.

“This is true,” Cully said. “We have some contact with other civilizations in this galaxy and one was helpful trying to find us a new place to live.”

“Why couldn’t they?” Daniel asked.

“It was some years ago, but I was present when the meeting took place,” Cully explained. “The ship that facilitated the talks looked for several places where we could live, but as they hadn’t been traveling for very long, they were not up to date on what kind of people lived on the occupied planets. Several of the options they presented us with were in Goa’uld-occupied territory and were not acceptable to us. When we pressed for more choices, they denied us further help, saying that they needed to do more research into what was going on in this galaxy to be of further assistance. We have not heard from them since, and our attempts at contacting them again have failed. We offered our assistance, but they preferred to do their own research.”

“I wish now that I had questioned this matter further when we last spoke to Tallis. He did not elaborate on this matter further,” Teal’c said.

“I’m sure we have planets in our database that will suit your needs,” Daniel said. “We do extensive reconnaissance and have, as you know, many allies out there that inform us of what they learn from their undercover operatives in the Goa’uld-infested areas of the galaxy.”

“You continue to impress me,” Cully said. “To think there might be a planet out there where we can live in peace and without fear of Anubis finding us…. It’s almost too much to imagine. We thrive aboard our ship, but everyone wishes for a new, safe planet we can call our home.”

“We can’t promise that Anubis will never find you,” Sam said. “But we’re going to do our best to prevent it. I’m sure Thor and the Asgard will help as well. Why don’t you let me know what you think your people require in terms of space and environmental conditions and I’ll plot it into the computer?”

“I’ll be happy to.”

“I don’t suppose you remember what that Lotan guy said when you were aboard their ship?” Jack asked Daniel after he’d given his chair to Cully so he and Sam could start looking through the database.

“You mean if he said he didn’t have all the planets in our galaxy mapped out? No, I don’t think he said anything about that. They were a 10,000 year old civilization looking for a place to live, just as much as the Tuberous are now. I don’t think they’d left a planet un-scanned. Scanning a planet and knowing who lives there are two different things, though. Lotan never mentioned anything about knowing what kind of life-form lived on the planets they scanned.”

“Incoming wormhole!” Walter said suddenly.

The ‘Gate started dialling and Jack quickly gave the order to close the iris. “What now?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Sam said. “We don’t expect any teams back.” She turned to one of the techs. “Get General Hammond to come down here.”

“Who is it?” Daniel leaned closer to get a better look at the screen to see whose IDC would be confirmed. “It’s Thor,” he said a moment later. “He’s sending a text message. He’s coming.”

There was a bright flash and Thor appeared before them. “Greetings,” he said.

“Thor,” Hammond greeted as he came down the stairs. “You got our call?”

“Indeed. I am only sorry I was not able to come sooner.”

“Sooner?” Jack asked in surprise. “You were two days away. It’s been what, a couple of hours since we returned?”

“Another ship from the Asgard fleet arrived at my location and I was able to express my need for a faster vessel and switched ships with them,” Thor explained.

“I guess that explains why you got here so quickly,” Daniel said, looking at Jack with amusement. “Thank you. We need your help.”

Thor nodded. “I received your communication. What has occurred? When I did not detect you on the planet I feared the worst and came here.”

“You didn’t see anything explode?” Sam asked as soon as they were seated in the briefing room again.

“I did. There was a large detonation close to the area where I last saw your life-signs. I assume that is why I could no longer detect your life-signs on the planet. I feared you had perished.”

“So it is true,” Cully said, hiding his head in his hands. “My world is destroyed.”

“Not exactly,” Thor said. “The Stargate is presumed buried in the ruins and the device you found is completely gone, but the planet is intact.”

“Nothing happened to my people and our ship?” Cully removed his hands from his face and looked at Thor.

“No. In fact, I was able to communicate with them before arriving here. I alerted them of what I believe had happened and told them I would get back to them with more information as quickly as I could.”

“Thank you,” Cully said. “I am most grateful. It would be a tragedy if our homeworld was destroyed.”

“I don’t think you should try living there again,” Jack said. “Before you arrived, Thor, we were discussing potential planets Cully’s people could move to. We’ve relocated populations before. They have a ship, which means that we don’t have to relocate them through the ‘Gate. It makes the process easier, and also assures that we are able to relocate everyone. There is, of course, the potential danger of Anubis finding out where they are flying.”

“I can help with that,” Thor said. “We can assume that Anubis would want to find out what happened on Tubris. Tallis must therefore remove his ship from orbit. Our engineers are still working with them, and I also made sure they have a negotiator with them to continue the talks. Although they are not able of reaching hyperspace yet, they can fly the ship with the repairs that now have been made. As it is they are travelling towards the edge of this galaxy. The Goa’uld have not been there for thousands of years, and it should be safe to start a new existence there.”

“That’s great news,” Daniel said happily.

“I assume you’re capable of reaching hyperspace?” Cully asked Thor.

“Indeed. If we leave now we may reach your ship within moments.”

“General?” Jack asked, looking to Hammond who up to this point had not said anything.

“You’re saying you’ve found a planet where these people may live out the rest of their lives in peace and quiet?” Hammond asked Thor.

“Yes we have.”

“Very well,” Hammond said. “You have a go. Thor, I trust you to send my people back home safely once the transplantation has taken place?”

“I will,” Thor said.

“SG-1, Godspeed.” Hammond rose from his chair and Jack and Sam quickly followed suit.

“Be ready in 15,” Jack ordered. “We leave as quickly as possible.”


	15. Chapter 15

PART FIFTEEN

 

“Nice ride,” Jack said once Thor had beamed SG-1, himself and Cully to the bridge of his new ship.

“Thank you, O’Neill,” Thor said, inclining his head. “I much prefer this to the previous ship.”

“You don’t say.” Jack whistled and looked around.

“We will make one short stop on the way to encapsulate the Tuberous ship within our shield and then we will head for the coordinates. We should reach our destination within the hour.” Jack was about to voice his surprise that Thor could do that, but if he hadn’t been able to do it he wouldn’t have suggested it, Jack figured. Instead he used the time to check out more of Thor’s impressive ship.

 

&&&&&

 

“We’re here,” Sam said a few minutes short of an hour later. She turned to look at the team. “This is P6N-927. It’s one of the planets the Ancients provided us with the address for. A UAV was sent here last year to do an initial recon, but we’ve not sent any teams here yet.” A planet’s surface could be seen on the large window-like screen on Thor’s ship. Immediately to their right the Tuberous ship appeared on the screen and a moment later Tallis’ face appeared.

“Greetings! Our heartfelt thanks goes to you all for providing us with this opportunity to start anew. However, I believe I need to apologize for my earlier mistrust in you. You have all upheld your end of our agreement, and more. We are most grateful for your assistance.”

“You’re welcome,” Thor and Daniel said simultaneously.

“Dr. Jackson,” Tallis greeted. “I heard you were taken ill. You look much recovered.”

“Thank you. I am,” Daniel smiled.

“This planet is suitable for us?” Tallis asked Thor.

“Yes. It has an agreeable atmosphere and a temperate climate. There appears to be a variety in nature and it has never been home to any advanced civilization or to dangerous predators of any kind. There is a bounty of wildlife and flora, and there are deserts and lakes as well as lush and green areas. I trust you will be satisfied with our find?”

“We certainly are,” Cully answered, nodding at Tallis to agree as well.

“Yes,” Tallis said. “We are indeed pleased with this.”

“Has anyone been down there to check it out?” Jack asked. “We could have a team do a recon and make sure what your database tells you is true.”

“Major Carter has equipped the ship with one of your UAVs,” Thor said. “It is currently flying in a pattern over the planet, recording its findings.”

“Cool!” Jack exclaimed. “I’m glad you can use some of our technology too.”

“It is not something we would have thought of creating,” Thor said. “It is a very useful tool.”

“Still, I’d like to be down there once they arrive,” Jack continued. “I think they’d like to meet you as well.”

“Agreed,” Thor said. “I will be there when the Tuberous decide to relocate.”

“I would like to return to our ship now,” Cully said. “It might take some time to get everything ready for the transport to our new home. I will contact you when we are ready.”

“Great. In the meantime I say we do a bit of a recon ourselves,” Jack said, looking at his team.

“I have alerted our ships of what we are doing and our vessels in this area as well as those in the area of Tubris and Tuberous are keeping their eyes open for any Goa’uld activity. We would like to see this treaty in place as much as the rest of you,” Thor said.

“Again, thank you,” Cully said, looking a little flustered.

“It’s our pleasure,” Daniel said. “We would like to see you arrive safe and sound as well. We’ll see you down there.”

“If you all are finished, I will beam Cully back onboard his ship and you to the planet’s surface,” Thor said.

“I assume there is a Stargate there with a working DHD?” Sam asked as she stood together with the rest of her team, waiting to be beamed out.

“Yes, there is. I will beam you there now.”

 

&&&&&

 

“This planet looks promising,” Teal’c said. After Thor had beamed them down to the planet, SG-1 had done an initial recon of the immediate area around the Stargate and was now walking further afield. The UAV could be heard overhead and Jack waved at it.

“Thor is downloading the contents of the memory chip and will send it to us as soon as it’s done,” Sam said, looking up at the flying probe.

“There’s nothing here,” Daniel said a little disappointed. “No ruins of any kind, no signs of civilization at all.” Putting his notebook into his pack and the pen back in his pocket, he looked around one more time to make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

“Well, Thor did say it hadn’t been occupied,” Jack said, giving Daniel a comforting pat on the back. “But think, now you can study the Teletubbies as they start over.”

“Tuberous, Jack,” Daniel laughed. “You’ve got to stop calling them Teletubbies. Have you seen the Teletubbies?”

“Yes, I have. I’m a bit more concerned that you have.”

“I do watch TV, Jack, You know that,” Daniel crossed his arms across his chest. “Just because I don’t watch hockey or the Simpsons doesn’t mean I don’t watch TV.”

“Yes, but children’s TV, Daniel? You don’t watch that?”

“I don’t! Cassie was too old for that when she came here. But you’ve heard of channel surfing, haven’t you?”

“Of course I have.”

“Then, there you have it. I’ve surfed past a couple of times. Plus Teal’c is into all kinds of modern culture, and we’ve discussed them before.”

Sam started laughing. “You and Teal’c have discussed the Teletubbies? I assume you’ve done some research into this as well?”

“Of course,” Teal’c said. “It is an interesting concept. The program has received much attention.”

“Okay, you two,” Jack said, moving to stand between Daniel and Teal’c in an attempt at preventing a whole new discussion. “Stop it right now. Focus on checking this planet out, okay?”

“O’Neill,” Thor’s voice interrupted them as it came over their radios.

Jack put his earpiece in and answered. “We’re here, Thor. Go on.”

“I will beam myself, Cully and a contingent of his people down to the planet’s surface. They have agreed to examine it further and establish if it is suitable for them.”

“Okay.” Jack had barely finished speaking before a large group of people appeared in front of them. “Hey, guys,” Jack waved.

“Welcome home,” Daniel said, smiling tentatively, not wanting to sound too eager in case Cully and his contingent decided they didn’t want to stay here after all.

“Thank you. There is much to discuss yet, but we were curious to see this place for ourselves before we make any final decision,” Cully said, smiling reassuringly at Daniel.

“Daniel?” Jack said. “Why don’t you and Carter give them the grand tour? Teal’c and I’ll stay here and guard the ‘Gate.”

“We’ll be glad to,” Daniel answered. “Come on, let’s show you around. We’ve not found any traces of civilization, which means that if anyone has lived here before, they left so long ago that there are no visible trails of them left. Your historians might verify that later, but if you need any help looking, we’ll do our best to assist you.”

“You are most kind. We have been preparing for resettling for a long time and are very much looking forward to building our new homes on this world.”

“Just let us know if there’s anything you need,” Sam said once they’d done a circuit of the area SG-1 had explored. “We’ll be in touch. Thor and his engineers will stay in the area to assist you and we’ll check in with you at regular intervals.”

“You guys ready?” Jack asked an hour later when Sam and Daniel joined him and Teal’c by the Stargate.

“Yeah, we’re good to go,” Daniel said. “Cully has already started to plan where their new settlements will be. He also invited us back for a festive meal in two weeks.”

“That was quick. They think they can get a liveable village up by then?” Jack asked.

“Yes, sir, they’ve been waiting for this for a long time. Apparently they have the tools and equipment for quickly erecting temporary but solid homes available on the ship. They also have seeds and saplings of plants and produce from their homeworlds with them. In this climate, it shouldn’t be too long before they’ll see some results and be able to harvest the first crops.”

Daniel waved at Cully and Tallis, who now were leaving the rest of the contingent to see SG-1 off. “See you soon.”

 

&&&&&

 

Two weeks later…

“Ow, ow, ow!” Daniel complained as he limped down the ramp. “You weren’t kidding when you said a 30-click hike. My feet are killing me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk again. And come on! Why did we hike that far? There wasn’t anything to see after all. Those villages were deserted a long time ago. Why didn’t the UAV do the recon on this planet in the first place?”

“Static,” Jack said, sitting down beside Daniel where he’d plopped down at the bottom of the ramp. “You know Carter’s been drooling about that place for months and the terrain is too difficult for ATV’s. We had to walk.”

“I know.” Daniel rubbed his aching calves. “And by the way, why is it called an all terrain vehicle when it’s obviously not suited for all terrains?”

“Don’t even start,” Jack warned. “It’s just how it is.” Jack watched Daniel rub at his legs for another moment. “I think I’ve got blisters all the way up to my knees,” he moaned when Daniel just wouldn’t stop rubbing.

Daniel blinked at Jack then laughed. “That’s not possible.”

“Of course it is,” Jack argued while starting to unlace his boots.

“Is not. For one thing it’s no longer your feet if you’ve got blisters up to your knees; for another, your clothes don’t blister, do they?”

“Semantics,” Jack grumbled and continued his unlacing. “If they’re wet.”

“What’s going on, people?” Hammond asked over the intercom.

“Oh, nothing. We didn’t find anything of interest.” Daniel said, gingerly getting to his feet, moaning with discomfort before looking up at Hammond. “I need a very long and very hot shower,” he commented to all and sundry.

“Me too,” Sam agreed, leaning on Daniel as she lifted one foot after the other off the ground to rest them. “My feet have never been this sore. I’m sorry to drag you all that way for nothing.”

“Ah pfft,” Jack waved the issue away. “Daniel needed the exercise.”

“I did not!”

“Did too.”

“Didn’t.”

“O’Neill, DanielJackson,” Teal’c rumbled. Sheepishly, they both stopped squabbling, and Daniel silently helped Jack to his feet.

Hammond looked at his premiere team with curiosity. It looked like they had no intention of leaving the Gateroom in the immediate future, and so he decided to come to them instead. Hammond frowned as he watched all of them except Teal’c lean on one of the others. When Sam leaned on Daniel, Daniel had grabbed Teal’c’s shoulder for support. Jack was leaning against Teal’c’s other side, a hand to his back.

“The mission was a bust, sir,” Jack said, letting go of Teal’c’s arm. “The villages we found were deserted. Daniel thinks they left a long time ago.”

“There were no signs of any recent activity, sir,” Sam continued. “And my scanners didn’t detect any form of technology at all.”

“Basically, sir, it was a waste of time,” Jack said before stretching his back again and leaning on his steadfast Jaffa friend.

“I see. We can debrief later. While you were gone we heard from Thor. The Tuberous are expecting you at their new home world tomorrow. Cully informed me that they have something they’d like to show you.”

 

&&&&&

 

“O’Neill, Dr. Jackson, Major Carter, Teal’c! Welcome to Circulus, our new home!” Cully greeted. SG-1 had barely set foot on the Tuberous new home-world before Cully was at their side, greeting them enthusiastically.

“Wow!” Daniel exclaimed in lack of a more eloquent way of expressing his amazement. “You weren’t joking when you said you’d prepared for a new place to live. You’ve accomplished a lot in such a short time.”

Not far from the Stargate, SG-1 could see small buildings erected, each with a measured out area of ground where people were planting seeds for their vegetable gardens. In the short two weeks that had passed since SG-1 was here last the Tuberous had managed to get a good start on their new life. “We have three more villages like this in the area,” said Cully, “and several more are being erected as we speak. Our ship remains in orbit and provides us with what material we might need. The Asgard engineers have finished their work with the repairs and our ship is now in better condition than it has ever been in. There is much yet to discover.”

“I’d say you’ve done an excellent job thus far,” Jack looked around at the village and the people. “Your people seem happy.”

“They are,” Cully said, “We are. But come, I have more to show you.” He started walking towards one of the larger buildings in the village, chatting enthusiastically about what they passed as they walked. “What I wanted to show you is here.” Opening the doors to the simple yet sturdy building, Cully lead SG-1 into what looked like a conference room. “This is our new Conference Room. The Asgard are working on implementing their communications device with our technology, and this is where it will be placed once it is done.”

“That’s wonderful,” Daniel commented, relieved that the Tuberous now would be protected once again and that the Asgard were taking steps to assure their security and ability to communicate. Sam hung onto every word Cully said as he explained how far they’d progressed. “But I’ve a feeling there is more?” Daniel said when Cully stopped to think for a moment.

“Indeed,” Cully grinned happily, continuing his explanations at a pace worthy of Daniel at his most enthusiastic. He walked over to one of the people sitting at the table in the middle of the room. The man was sitting with his back to SG-1 and now he rose and turned around to greet them.

“Jama!” Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Cully, you kept your word and negotiated for his release?”

“I did,” Cully said. “Thor provided us with the Stargate address for Tuberous and I went there to retrieve him myself. Our Grand Council decided that since he was instrumental in getting us in touch with you and the Asgard, he could live amongst us if his main task was to help implement the Asgard technology with our own. It was decided that if we all get to start over, he should be given the chance to do so as well. He is only allowed to do this under constant supervision so that he does not attempt to communicate with other races, but so far he has kept his promise.”

“I have seen what the Asgard and you have done to help my people,” Jama said. “I am glad to see you all again. I might not be able to free my family from a life among Anubis’ slaves, but I have got my people back, and that is something. I willingly do what I can to help any way I can.”

“That’s great!” Jack said, genuinely happy for the guy. “And who knows, maybe one day your family will be free. We’ll tell our allies to keep a look out for them and let us know if they are found.”

“I would very much appreciate that,” Jama said. “I have done nothing to gain your trust, yet you are willing to help?”

“New beginnings,” Daniel said. “Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Wise words. Come, we have prepared a feast,” Cully said. “At sundown we will have a great meal together.”

“Sundown, you say?” Jack said, squinting at the sky. It was overcast.

“When the sky darkens,” Cully nodded and smiled at Jack’s antics.

“Thank you,” Daniel said. “We’d like that.” His stomach started growling and Daniel looked around, embarrassed, quickly put a hand over it as if that would dull the sound and they all laughed.

“It sounds like you could do with sustenance already now,” Cully laughed.

An hour later they were all seated at a long table decked with a variety of foods. Cully and Jama eagerly explained what everything was and SG-1 happily joined in the meal, the conversation flowing easily between various subjects, most of which were related to how life on the new world was.

“What will happen to Tallis?” Daniel said after his second helping of a succulent meat that looked like and tasted like lamb as well as something yellow that tasted of something akin to cinnamon and carrots but had the consistency of potatoes.

“What do you mean?” Cully asked, also getting serious.

“It’s just that earlier you said his mental capacity is reduced and that he cannot be the sole ruler of your people?” Jack said helpfully, twirling the goblet he’d been drinking from between his hands.

“Ah, you mean when I said I’d do the negotiations on our behalf?” Jack nodded. “Tallis has a temper, and as you know, negotiations are a delicate business. It is true that he is not as well-functioning as he thinks he once was, but most of our people believe he is doing a good job of leading our people. One needs tact and patience when dealing with other nations. I’m sure you’re aware of this fact? I have more patience than Tallis, and sometimes he forgets that in his eagerness to do what he believes is best for our people. It is true that he is getting old and it is only a matter of time how much longer he can rule.”

“I see,” Sam said. “The patience thing is why Daniel usually does the negotiation and the Colonel and the rest of us deal with the bad guys.”

“Carter!” Jack protested, not without amusement at his 2IC’s choice of words.

Daniel looked defensive, but when he looking around saw nothing but amusement in his companions’ eyes. Sam figured a modification was in order. “Okay,” she said, “it’s at least partially true. Daniel is our best negotiator and the culture expert, but I think the Colonel is perfectly able of holding his own in a negotiation situation.”

“As am I,” Cully said. “You did well in our first meeting.”

“So Tallis will continue to be your leader?” Jack asked, moving back to their original topic of conversation, feeling somewhat embarrassed at the attention.

“Perhaps. It will be put to a general vote once we are more settled. Everyone is starting anew, and this also means everyone gets the same chance at making a life for themselves. We’re likely to see some conflicts, but we are not a violent people and it will not lead to battle. We are much too content with having a place where we can live and not longer worrying about fleeing to fight each other at the moment. We need a strong leadership, and disrupting the balance of power at this point would mean political suicide for Tallis and the rest of us trying to govern our nation.”

“That sounds like a wise decision,” Daniel agreed. “And if he does anything you don’t like, you can always do something about it.”

“Indeed!” Cully raised his glass in a toast and SG-1 and the others seated at their table did the same. “Here’s to a fresh start and new friends! May our alliance prosper and grow as is the hope for our life now that we are free.”

“To friends!” They all chimed in.

 

&&&&&

 

“You’ll keep in touch?” Daniel asked once they were back at the ‘Gate. The festive meal had lasted well into the night, and each member of SG-1 was both full and tired and ready to head back home.

“Indeed,” Cully said, embracing each of them in turn. “It has been a pleasure getting to know you and I look forward to furthering our friendship.”

“As do we,” Jack said. “If you need anything, just holler. We’ll be around.”

Daniel walked over to the DHD. “If you need to contact us, you can use the communicator Thor gave you.” He handed Cully a note. “This is our address. You may contact us at any time. Use the communicator and we’ll know it’s you who want to speak with us. As you saw, we have an impenetrable shield covering our Stargate, so I would not advice coming through before you have got confirmation that it is safe.”

Cully embraced Daniel again. “Thank you. We will contact you when we are ready to start the trade negotiations. After spending some time on your world I have started to make a list of things we’d like to trade for.”

“I’m sure you have,” Jack said. “Daniel tells me you’ve become fond of sodas.”

“Indeed, as well as the bitter black liquid. Coffee, I believe you call it.”

“I’m sure we can arrange for some of that too,” Daniel smiled.

“Take care,” Sam offered, shaking Cully and Tallis’ hands. “It’s been a pleasure.”

“You as well,” Tallis returned.

“SG-1, move out,” Jack said as soon as the ‘Gate opened and Daniel had punched in his IDC. “Let’s go home.” Just before he entered the wormhole he turned around and waved at the assembled group of dignitaries and leaders of the newly freed nation. Cully waved back and Tallis saluted them as well. The last thing Jack thought as he walked through the wormhole was that the Tuberous certainly were nice people and that he hoped SG-1 would be the team that would do the trade negotiations with them.

“You know,” Daniel said to the rest of his team as they walked down the ramp. “It’s one thing to save a single person or a small group of villagers from an oppressive Goa’uld. It’s something completely different to have the opportunity to save an entire population and hopefully prevent them from ever being oppressed and enslaved again. I hope we get to help save so many more often.”

“Indeed,” Teal’c said. “It is a most satisfying task.”

“I’ll get started on checking out what planets we know of that are suitable for relocating large populations,” Sam added. “It wouldn’t hurt to make a list, just in case another opportunity like this arises.”

“I just hope we won’t come across a planet the size of Earth,” Jack mused. “I’d hate to steer 6 billion people through the wormhole. Think of the traffic jam that’ll cause.”

“Let’s hope it won’t come to that,” General Hammond said from the entrance to the Gateroom. “Welcome home, SG-1.”

 

THE END


End file.
